Reign of the Elements
by Kikyo-Pyroana-Sulane
Summary: When Chihiro finally makes it back to the Spirit World after years of searching, she finds a world under new management and a missing Haku. Embarking on a journey to save the world she wants to call home she discovers something exists stronger than spirit
1. Monotonous Life

Chapter 1: Monotonous Life

A/N: Hey, my name's Go-chan. Nice to meet everyone! I've never posted on any fanfic site so this is 'technically' my first story but I've been writing for years now. I'm a little nervous because I've never posted any of my writing.

All right, this story is about Spirited Away, a sequel to the movie. It does have a T+ rating but might upgrade to M nearing the end of the story. Emphasis on the '_near the end_' part. Reviews are appreciated and thank you for reading my story!

Disclaimer: All the characters, except the ones that I have created which are my property, are copyrighted to Studio Ghibli and Hayao Miyazaki. Please don't sue 'cause I'm not getting any profit from this!

* * *

"Chihiro-chan!" Yuki called from behind me. I turned to look and smiled wanly as my friend came racing down the steps of our high school.

The day was over, thank kami! I couldn't take another minute of teachers drilling us about college entrance exams and how the rest of our lives depended. I didn't have to worry about those exams anymore. Not since I passed the last one with flying colors.

"Chihiro-chan!" Yuki finally caught up to me at the bottom of the steps. People streamed by us running to get home. I wished to get home quick to if only Yuki would let me leave. She likes to talk way too much I swear. "So…where are you off to so quickly?!" Her mouth stretched into a kind-hearted smile.

"Home." I said simply moving towards the parking lot where my beat up Toyota. Of course my parents would have to get me a car. We lived in the middle of the country! There were no fast subways like back in Tokyo, like back home…

"Why are you going home?" She frowned in disapproval, "it's Thursday!"

"Exactly, tomorrow is a school day."

"But, you parents never care if you're home early or not!" Yuki argued as fiercely as a tiger. She looked like a bimbo what with all the uber Lolita stuff she puts on top of her uniform and the curls she painstakingly pulled her hair into just to come to school but beneath that was a really smart girl. If only she could dress a little more seriously then maybe everyone else would take her seriously.

"I care." I sighed ant turned to look longingly at my car.

"But-"

"Look, Yuki-chan, I want to go home, I'm tired!" I whined, pleading for mercy. For a second, it seemed like she would keep trying to convince me to stay but…after that second, she just stared at me and shook her head.

"Fine, go home." I turned to leave, inwardly doing a victory dance at having foiled her plans.

"How about tomorrow?" She asked as I hurried towards my car. My body froze as the mention of tomorrow hit my brain.

Tomorrow. The Anniversary.

"I've got plans." I muttered, beginning to walk towards my car again.

"What plans?" She yelled.

"Something important!" This was the point were I made a break for it. Running as fast as I could, I got to my car and jumped in. A few seconds passed. Nothing happened. Sighing in relief I turned the car on and started to pull out of my space.

It only took a few seconds to get to the road. Now was the worst part. This was basically a test of patience. The road was jammed with students leaving school, all of them as impatient as me. There was only one remedy for the impatient ticks that coursed through my legs. Music! I smiled as I filled with the radio, praying that it would turn on today.

A soft melody whispered in through the speakers. Yes! Score! It worked! I sat back and let the calming music settle my fried nerves. With the calm, though, came something else: remembrance. I rubbed my eyes angrily as the traffic crept forward. Yuki just had to remind me of tomorrow.

Tomorrow. How I hated the thought of tomorrow. The anniversary of the day I left the spirit realm with my family. The day I last saw Haku. How long was it now? Seven, eight years ago? Far, far too long.

No. Those thoughts would stop right there! It only hurt to remember his face, his eyes, his smile…oh no! Stop right there, Chihiro! No more thinking about him and how he didn't—kuso! Kuso! Kuso! Kuso!

I slammed my hands against the wheel, not noticing that I hit the horn. A few heads swiveled in my direction, wide eyes staring at me.

Can the earth swallow me up now? I waved sheepishly and sunk into the chair as the drivers turned forward. Speaking of traffic, it was finally speeding up. Good, I needed to get out of this car and its semi silence. Quiet time never was good for me. It always made me think of Haku and his blue hair. Oh and did that hair look _good_ when the wind blew through it…

Oh, kami…definitely the music. Yup, that had to go. I fiddled with the music until I found that played visual-kei. Pounding music came out of the speakers. Finally Haku was chased from the fore front of my mind into the recesses where he had to stay.

After passing the little patch of extreme traffic, the drive went pretty quick. Well, it was still pretty far from my high school to my house, almost thirty minutes. The scenery kept me entertained; it always did. The flowing grass, the clear blue sky; it looked so much like the spirit realm that it hurt. It hurt to live out here. I much prefer Tokyo with its skyscrapers and zero trees to this endless greenery. Much easier to forget Haku in that steel jungle than here where his very presence was in the air I breathed.

Looks like the music isn't going to help me today. I rubbed a hand over my head, brushing back my hair. It's all because of what day it is tomorrow! I hate tomorrow, really hate it from the deepest fibers of my being. Every time it comes around I end up in my room, crying by the end of the day.

The forest loomed before me, the leaves swinging in the breeze. I smiled at the place. So beautiful. If there were any place I could call home it would be that forest with its secrets. I remember that when I was younger, I used to promise that I would build myself a house in that forest by the little houses for the spirits so I could be close to the trees, so I could be close to Haku.

I don't promise that anymore.

Without a thought I took the main route up the hill to my blue house. There it stood, the last house on that hill, right before the forest started. That's where I lived. Whoop de doo.

I maneuvered into the garage expertly and shut the car off. Impeccable as usual I thought, as I stepped out of the Toyota. There was never any part of the house that was dirty or in disarray thanks to my mom and the cleaning lady. Well, at least she could say that the house was clean, that's about all she _could_ say.

The house was quiet as I walked in through the garage door, kicking off my loafers and padding into the living room. My book bag was too heavy. It thudded to the floor like a bomb. Way too heavy. I rolled my shoulders and stretched, trying vainly to get the kinks out of my muscles. Any minute now…just give him two seconds and…

"Oneechan!" An excited voice chirped. A blurring flash of bright colors ran down the stairs before skittering to a stop in front of me. Big, huge black eyes stared at me brightly as he hopped from foot to foot.

The cutest little eight year old in the world clutched at his bear as he looked at me expectantly. I smiled and knelt down before him, messing up his hair.

"What's up, squirt?"

"Can you play hide-and-go-seek with me?" His whole face was pulled into a huge smile as he stared at me. I gulped and looked around the room, trying not to make eye contact with him.

"Um, sorry otouto but I have to do homework…" His entire face fell as I said this. I swallowed again as his little shoulders drooped. He asked me the same thing everyday and most of the times I played with him but today was just not a good day for playing. For anything really.

"Oh, okay oneechan." He nodded and shuffled off to the kitchen. Sighing I got up and dragged my bag up the stairs. Boy could Ryuu work up a guilt trip! He was a manipulative one but I guess that comes from having parents like we do; he had to find some way to get their attention from their work.

My room was all the way at the far right corner of the second floor. To me, it was a sanctuary. Stepping inside felt like going back in time. It wasn't the design of the room that made me feel so at home, the lay out was pretty normal; my new western bed was pushed against a corner, touching the pastel green wall and my wooden furniture was dispersed evenly around my room. It wasn't even the pictures of Haku that stared down at me from the walls. Tens of them decorated my room, pictures of him from every angle and yet none of them were right.

It wasn't the inside that made my room so special; no, the magic was reserved for my balcony. It was small and only about a body length across but there, right in front of it, was the forest. This is where I slept when it was nice enough to be outside. I would grab a blanket and lay down on the wooden floor listening to the woods settle in for the night. The canopy of leaves lulled me to sleep as the stars twinkled and blinked, guardians of my sleep. It was one of the places where I felt Haku beside me.

"Chihiro!" My mother's yell was muffled by the door thank kami.

"Yes, mama?" I cried back.

"Have you started your homework?" Of course the only thing she could think about was keeping up my good grades. Heaven forbid that I waver a bit and lose my salutatorian place. So there was no 'good afternoon' or 'how was your day' for me. No. For me there was only homework and chores.

"Yes." I yelled back as I walked back into the room and sunk down onto my computer chair, turned my laptop on, and started on my load of torture.

* * *

"Now, where is that bathing suit?" I scrounged through my drawers searching for that simple one piece that I had. There, in the back of the drawer, was the sot after piece.

"Ah ha!" I yelled as I stripped and pulled the thing on. Now for the towel…where was it again? I sighed and plunged back into the drawers until my beach towel appeared.

Having all my stuff, I slunk out of my room and down the stairs. No one was down here. Good. My parents were so predictable. Dad would be in the study, glued to his computer and mom would be sitting in the TV room watching her soaps. Ryuu was the only unpredictable one but, knowing him, he'd probably be in his room, playing make believe.

That left the outside all to me just as I wanted it. I crept out the French doors to the patio. My eyes zoomed in on the pool and a stupid smile crept over my face. My brain went on Haku mode as I dropped the towel and ran full speed into the pool.

Splash and I was in! Water surrounded me, moving and flowing around me like a hug. Maybe it was crazy but the water always seemed to pull tighter around me when I was fully submerged with my eyes closed. It felt like an embrace.

Slowly, I let myself sink, releasing all the oxygen in my lungs. My feet touched the ground an instant later. This was a ritual for me and I knew the steps like I knew my heartbeat. My eyes drifted shut as blood slowed to my limbs.

And there it was: the feeling that someone had wrapped me up in his arms. The water turned into arms and fingers. It brushed my skin firmly, like it knew me. A whisper of breath caressed my ear. Did it say my name?

My mind was playing tricks on me. It had to be because that voice sounded like…no, don't even say it.

Even with all the practice I had over the past eight years I couldn't hold my breath for more than two minutes. Pushing my limits, I tried to stay under water for longer but my lungs just would not hold out. I broke the surface with a gasp, gulping down the blessed air and getting ready to go down again.

"You know I don't like it when you do that." A voice startled me out of my preparations. I twitched and flailed in the water as I swiveled to look at the voice.

My mom stood there, stiff as metal, looking at me with placid eyes. She stood a ways away from the pool of course, wouldn't want to get that new Zara outfit wet! _Oh_ _no_!

"Good evening, mama." I muttered as I stepped out of the pool wet and shivering, cursing my mother without saying a word.

"Don't do that again, Chihiro." She stared at me with hard eyes, trying to bully me into submitting.

"Yes mama." I muttered. She nodded and looked at the pool again in disdain.

"Go shower and be down to dinner in a half hour."

"I'm not hungry, mama."

"Excuse me?" She looked at me with shocked eyes. Oh, was she surprised that I was defying her. If she only knew how many times a day I tuned her out.

"I'm not hungry."

"You will still eat dinner!" She snapped.

"I'm not hungry and I need to finish homework."

"Then why were you in the pool?"

"I needed a break." I said with a shrug. She didn't really know how to answer that. Shifting from side to side, she glanced up and down before settling on a point above my head.

"If you become anorexic, it's your problem." Kami forbid that she might have to deal with a problem of mine.

"Yes mama," and with that I swept up my towel, slipped inside, and up the stairs.

I took a quick shower and slipped into my PJs. The whole family was downstairs and they wouldn't come into my room for the rest of the night. Good. I didn't need anyone barging in. I walked into my room, still toweling my hair. If the weather held, the evening would be nice, good enough to sleep outside. My homework was done and I could go to sleep early, a rare treat for an honor roll student. So that's what I did; I grabbed my blanket and pillows and headed out to the balcony. Arranging the items to make the semblance of a bed was easy from how many times I did this. I slipped under the covers and looked out towards the forest.

Tomorrow would bring the Anniversary, the most painful day of the year.

I shut my eyes against the wave of memories and fell asleep to fitful dreams.

* * *

A/N: So, what did you think? I would very much appreciate constructive criticism, arigato gozaimasu! 'Til next time!

Kikyo


	2. The Anniversary

Chapter 2: The Anniversary

A/N: Hey everyone! So, here's the second chapter…I hope you guys like it. Reviews are appreciated!! Thank you

Disclaimer: I don't own Spirited Away or any of the characters in it (only the ones I created like Ryuu and Yuki); Spirited Away belongs to Studio Ghibli and Hayao Miyazaki.

* * *

"Chi-hee-rooooooooo!" A loud voice woke me up from my dream of Kamaji and his boiler room. He kept on trying to turn me into a soot ball but the spell kept misfiring. Oddest dream ever!

"Hai, Ryuu, what's up?" I called.

"You're late! It's 6:45!!"

Kuso.

The blankets were conspiring against me I tell you…they kept tangling around me as I tried to get up. My uniform…where's my uniform? Where did I leave it? Oh! Yes! Hung up in the closet. There it was! Yes!

It seemed like the Kamis hated me. Probably because I cheated on that test two weeks ago. My clothing would not go on! The skirt was on backwards and the shirt refused to be tucked in. By the time I stumbled down the stairs it was way past late, it was bordering-on-getting-detention late.

"Chihiro," my mother called from the kitchen, "aren't you going to eat breakfast?"

"No!" I yelled as I ran towards the garage. My breath came in great gasps as I slipped into my shoes and barreled out the door.

At least my car started. That was the first good thing that happened all day. Now backing out of the garage was another story. The mailbox got in my way and I almost toppled it over in my haste.

My eyes kept glancing towards the clock. Could time really go faster when you needed it to _slow_ _down_?! There is no way that one minute could go by that fast! It really can't be 6:55. I have five minutes to get to school which is ten minutes away. Oh I am so screwed!

Kuso! Kuso! Kuso! Kuso! Late! Late! Late! Late!

I stepped on the accelerator and roared down the road at more than 60 kilometers per hour. Even at this speed the school seemed to get father and farther away. Oh, if I just had a time stopping power everything would be great!

Cars honked at me as my little Toyota raced down the highway. Little old ladies and grumpy business men stared at me infuriated as my car zoomed past them at light speed.

"_Gomen nasai! Gomen nasai!" _I kept thinking like a mantra as the school finally burst into my view.

Now: get into the parking space. My car swerved in with a squeal as I literally jumped out of the car while it was still running. My bag pack was slung over my shoulder a minute later as I tripped up the ever lengthening stairs.

One step turned into another but no matter how fast I tried to move my homeroom didn't seem to get any closer. The few stragglers zoomed past me but it seemed like they were running and I was going at a snail pace. It seemed like something straight out of a dream.

More like a nightmare.

"Hey, Chihiro-san!" A voice called out but I didn't even stop running as I shouted back a hello.

Glancing at my wrist watch made me groan in misery; the late bell would ring in a minute— less than a minute! Hurry! Hurry! Hurry!

Finally my homeroom appeared and my quivering legs almost sung in joy. Score! The bell rung just as I made it into homeroom. The small, grey haired lady looked up from the computer before sighing and shaking her head.

"Almost late, Chihiro-san," she said mildly as I tottered over to my desk and plunked down, breathing through my nose and trying to catch my breath.

The announcements came up but I was already dragging up my bookbag and pulling out my calculus homework that I had forgotten the night before. Kuso! There was no way that I was going to finish three pages worth of problems in…I glanced up at the clock…in twenty minutes.

Snatching some paper and scribbling down the first problem, trying to solve it correctly in a few seconds.

"Chihiro-chan?" Yuki asked from in front of me.

"Not now Yuki-chan, I'm kinda busy." I muttered as I scratched down another problem.

"Oh, okay." She cleared her throat. I sighed. That was usually her sign that she really needed to tell me something.

"What?" I asked. She chewed her lip and leaned in closer.

"Akihiro-san was asking about you before homeroom." She said in that voice she used when she had bad news to say.

A twitch formed right above my eyebrow. Akihiro was a bad name in my vocabulary. That jerk was talking about me? Wonder why…

"Mmhmm?" I asked, trying to go back to my math problems.

"Yeah, he was saying something about talking to you at lunch time…"she trailed off as my eye flashed up to her.

"No chance in hell! He dumped me." I muttered as I tried to concentrate on my math problems.

"But-"

"No buts," I interrupted, really not wanting to talk to him, at all. Period.

A huge pause enveloped us. I wondered what Yuki's was thinking about…probably about how to bring the conversation up again. Give her two seconds and-

"He _really _misses you." She murmured. I wasn't going to be able to do the last three problems, just great. Looking up, I rubbed my eyes, trying to get the patience to deal with Yuki.

"So what?"

"Well, I think you should give him a chance." She said with an expectant smile. What time does the bell ring? Kuso! I'll have to deal with her for another five minutes.

"Well I don't." Please give up the conversation! Please! Please!

"But he's such a good guy!" Of course she'd just keep on going and going and going and going…

"Well he can't be that good if he dumped me."

My head suddenly felt really heavy so I rested it on my folded arms.

"He only left you because you treated him like your personal pack mule." I snorted and a couple of students turned to look at me with eyebrows raised.

"So I did, but he was just so…so-"

"So what?" She persued when I trailed away.

"So boring!" I huffed.

"Boring! He's super adventurous! How can he be boring?" She stared at me wide eyed. A smile crept across my mouth. Poor Yuki. Didn't understand anything.

"He just is…"I murmured turning to look out the window at the shifting leaves of the trees outside, the wind blowing through them.

"You have to give me a reason!" She whined.

How can I tell her that Akihiro was a bore compared to what I had been through? He can't possibly compare to-

The bell rung and I literally fell out of the chair in surprise. My heart beat wildly as I snatched at my books and papers flying around the floor. _Where was my math work? _Where was it? Hmm…oh! There it was! I grabbed it up and swung my messenger bag on, preparing to make a mad dash to calculus.

"Chihiro-chan!" Yuki cried as I ran towards the door. I waved at her, not bothering to look at her, the stress about my imminent doom at the hands of my calculus teacher clouding my mind.

* * *

The lunch bell rung. It jolted me awake from the racing thoughts about the History test I had after lunch. The test I was sure to fail.

The chairs seemed to groan as the rest of the students rose from their seats and dragged themselves out the door. Everyone had a blank look on their face; gibbering randomly about superficial things, anything to divert brain cells from math related subjects.

"Ogino-san!" My teacher called. I snapped to attention turning to look at her.

"Yes? Sasaki-sensei?" my voice sounded old, even to me. The calculus teacher frowned at me then looked down at the papers before her, flipping through them.

"Where is your homework?"

"Ahh…"

I trailed off and slipped off my book bag, letting it drop to the floor before pulling it open to dig through the papers. There, between my history and physics book, was my math homework. Pulling it out, I handed it to Sasaki-sensei with a smile. _Please don't notice that it's not complete! Please!_

"What happened to the rest of the problems?" Today was just not my lucky day.

"I…I, uh, couldn't finish it." I said, looking down at the floor. There was silence for a long, long moment before she sighed and shook her head. I peaked up from under my bangs.

"Go Ogino-san! Do not turn in incomplete work again!" She huffed. No lecture! Yes!

Dang my book bag was heavy! It took a lot of my arm strength just to lift it and it bounced painfully against my back as I sped towards the door.

"Arigato Sasaki-sensei!" Now for lunch! Yummy! Wonder what my mom packed? Hope it's some of that sushi from the supermarket.

There was my locker, right next to the cafeteria so it was only open the rigged door and slip inside the loud room. Food was only a few seconds away.

"Chihiro-chan!" Yuki called from our usual table. My friends turned to wave me over, already bubbling to tell me some gossip or other.

"Hi!" I said in general to the table as I plunked down and opened my lunch box.

"Oh my god! Chihiro-chan! Have you _heard_!" Maki said with wide black eyes.

"No, I have not heard but can you _please_ tell me!" My mouth pulled into a wide grin as the girl laughed.

"Ryuunosuke-kun asked me out! On a date!" She squealed as my eyes popped out of my sockets.

"No! Get out! Really?"

"Mmhmm! Asked me out after homeroom!" She blushed prettily. Tetsumi leaned in from across the table with a big smirk, her voice dropping an octave.

"Speaking of the devil…hi Ryuunosuke-san!" She called. Maki almost broke something by how fast she turned to look at the smiling boy. His surfer style hair added shadows to his already mysterious eyes.

"Ryuunosuke!" Maki cried as he pulled up a chair beside her.

"Mind if I sit here ladies?" He asked, waiting for our response.

"Fine by us!" Yuki said with a smile. I nodded as Tetsumi was busy making embarrassing faces at Maki.

"Excuse Tetsumi, she tends to be on the stupid side." Maki said with a frown in the girl's direction.

"Hey!" Tetsumi cried indignantly. We chuckled as the two girls squabbled good naturedly. Well, Ryuunosuke seemed to be enjoying himself, laughing like an idiot over our antics. His eyes drifted over to me and then over my head. A joyous expression spread across his features as he stood.

"Hey Akihiro-san!" He said as another guy appeared behind me.

Oh no. Just fricking great. I turned to look at the other girls, my face twisting into a grimace. Tetsumi pulled her lips into a line as she tried, courageously, not to laugh. Yuki, on the other hand was busy making sure Akihiro sat by me. That rat! What a traitor!

"Can I sit here Chihiro?" He asked softly, his brown gold eyes turning soft as I glanced up at him.

"Forgot something?" I muttered as he waited for me to answer.

"Um…what?" He asked, his eyes drawing together in confusion.

"Never mind, just sit." I snapped. The table grew silent as Akihiro sat, placing his lunch on the table.

"So…Ryuunosuke-san, what are you doing here?" He asked, a smile spreading across his face. Stupid smile. It reminded me a bit to much of-

A something flicked against my cheek. What the—?

I jumped straight out of the chair as I looked up at a chuckling Yuki and an even redder Tetsumi.

"What was that?" I asked.

"Wad of paper." Her voice wavered up and down, trying to imitate innocence.

"Better not have had spit in it." I copied her voice as she stuck her tongue out.

"What would you do if it did?"

"You'd be dead by sunset." I threatened with a dead serious face.

"Oooo! I'm so scared!" She shuddered, her eyes widening in horror. "Yuki-chan! Save me from the mean, cranky old lady who's going to kill me with her boring jokes!"

"Very funny. _Very_ funny!" I said with a huff as the table broke down in giggles.

"You're a great actress, Tetsumi-san." Maki said.

"Yeah! You're in the play, right?" Akihiro asked. Tetsumi nodded and affected a pose.

"Na-turally, _I'm_ the lead!" She chirped.

"Oh brother!" I sighed. My eyes shifted to the right as Tetsumi ignored my comment and kept on posing and impersonating people.

Hmm, what to do to distract me from Akihiro…everyone was busy with their own business. Nothing exciting was happening in the cafeteria, only a bunch of kids getting their lunch and chattering with their friends. Their faces blended together into a see of pale skin and black hair.

Something stuck out at me as against the usual, something off. I focused in on the anomaly only to find myself watching a single boy, sitting by himself. He had his nose buried in a book and his eyebrows knitted together in concentration. There wasn't anything unusual about him, I saw him by himself all the time, so why did I notice him today? Was it that he got a haircut? Or better yet _wash_ his hair? Nope, it's still long and kinda greasy. His clothes were still the same, dark and nondescript. So why did my eyes focus on him?

"That guy is the biggest freak in the world!" Akihiro boasted, crashing through my meditation with an audible boom.

"Who?" Annoyance laced my voice as Akihiro looked at me, a happy smile passing across his mouth. The jerk thought he was something just because he got my attention.

"That guy you were looking at, Kichiro." He motioned with his chin at the boy.

"Oh and why is he a freak?"

"Because, all he does is read about the occult and when you ask him about his books he spews junk about youkai and what have you! He believes in that junk!" Akihiro laughed loudly. His laughed grated against my nerves and it seemed to grate against everyone else's nerves too; they only chuckled slightly as if the laugh was forced.

"And would you look at his clothes!" He laughed.

That's it, I was not going to take this! I stood and picked up my half eaten lunch. All laughter stopped as they turn to stare at me. Akihiro gulped audibly as my eyes bore holes into his face.

"W-what?" He asked.

"I'm leaving." I announced, picking up my book bag.

"But I have to talk to you!" He called as I moved to leave.

"I don't care." I huffed as I moved away from the table, feeling oddly hurt at his comments.

* * *

Finally, _finally_ I was out of school! It was almost nine and it had taken this long to finish my activities. Why did they have to put a student council meeting _and_ a volleyball practice on the same day? It was absolutely horrible! Between running to student council and then sprinting to volleyball, I was beat. Top that all off with my brutal coach's idea of a 'practice' I was glad just to be able to move!

Well, at least traffic was light! There was no one out this late on a school day and my little car zoomed down the road, racing to get home. Home! Bed! It almost made me want to cry in joy!

Ah! There was the forest! I was almost home free! My heart sped up as I stared at the trees. They seemed to wave at me happily, glad to see me getting home. Funny, the leaves looked an eerie blue color in the moon light. A smile spread across my face as the weird blue color reminded me of Haku and his hair. That beautiful hair of his, those eyes…

Haku.

_Haku, Haku, Haku, HAKU!_

The Anniversary.

My heart froze in my chest as I sped up, hitting 100 mph and passing the turn off to my house.

How could I have forgotten the anniversary?! I _never_ forget the anniversary! What was happening here? It felt like a knife was running through me as the guilt ate at my soul.

Did this mean I was forgetting about Haku? Would there come a day when he would not occupy my thoughts? The idea made me even more nauseous. Best not think about it.

My car burst through the trees, racing past the tiny little houses for the spirits. The branches bent to brush at my car like hands trying to hug me but I had no time for that. My thoughts were only on Haku and the horrible sadness I felt at forgetting him.

_Dammit_! Damn Yuki! Damn Tetsumi! Damn Maki and Ryo and Akihiro! Yes, _especially_ Akihiro for distracting me!

The laughing statue appeared suddenly in my view. My foot slammed on the brake, trying to avoid crashing into it. The car groaned to a stop way to slowly. I was going to hit it! No! No! No! I closed my eyes and tensed waiting for the impact.

It never came. I peaked, opening one eye at a time and found myself looking at an intact statue, staring at me with crescent eyes. A sigh burst from my throat as I pushed open the door and stepped out focusing on the statue.

"Hello, old friend," I whispered, stepping over until I could run my fingers over the mossy stone. "Have any surprises for me?" The statue just stood their smiling in both directions.

All the wind died for a few seconds and there was no movement, no sounds in the deep, deep forest. There was only the statue and I. My eyebrows furrowed as I looked up at the motionless trees. Hmm. That was odd.

Then the wind blew through the trees again without warning, shaking the leaves out of their branches. My hair whipped around my face, almost strangling. The air went out of my lungs as I fell from the force of the wind.

"What the-?" I shouted as the wind yelled in my ear, screeching like a demented banshee.

And then, as suddenly as it came, it stopped.

"Stupid wind," I muttered as I through back my hair, trying to flatten it into place. It worked I guess but I'd need a mirror to be sure.

I looked up to check on my car and stopped, any breath I had caught escaping all over again.

* * *

Heh! Heh! You like the cliff hanger, I like it! Please stay tuned for the next chapter!

Kikyo


	3. Enter Chihiro!

Chapter 3: Enter Chihiro

Chapter 3: Enter Chihiro!

A/N: So it's the third chapter and I'm really excited for the story! I can't stop writing, which is a very good sign!

P.S. Thank you to all the reviews I received!

P.S.S. If anyone is looking for something amazing to read in between FF stories; the Twilight series and The Host by Stephenie Meyer is AMAZING!! Alright, blabbering over…on to the story.

* * *

A dark, dark opening like a wolf's mouth stared at me, waiting to eat me. The breath would not return to my lungs as the moonlight illuminated the path before me.

It _must_ be the moonlight, there was no other explanation! That or I was crazy because the entrance I had been waiting for, yearning for, crying for was right before my eyes. The entrance to the land of the spirits had opened once again.

"It's just as I remember," I whispered aloud as I stumbled forward, brushing my fingers against the crumbling stone. A breeze picked up, knocking against my ankles, pushing me. I looked up, following the direction of the wind. It led straight to the entrance.

"I'm coming, I'm coming, I'm coming!" My voice growing louder as I ran towards the entrance…

A tiny seed of fear blossomed inside me as I was about to enter. What if Haku wasn't waiting for me? The thought hit me so hard it caused me stop dead in my tracks. If he wasn't waiting for me…what would I do? A shiver ran down my spine leaving a trail of cold sweat.

No. I wouldn't think about that. Not now.

My knees were shaking as I stepped through the door and into pitch darkness. It was kinda bumpy and the darkness seemed to go on forever but finally a small light appeared at the end of the tunnel. As the light grew stronger so did the giddy happiness inside my chest. It grew until my muscles were twitching in impatience.

I ran the last few steps, bursting into the darkening meadow with a whoop of joy. The grass murmured around my feet as my whole being turned to song and dance. It felt amazing! I felt alive, free! This is why I had missed the Land of the Spirits so much! This feeling of harmony just didn't exist in the human world anymore.

Oh! The bathhouse!

Stopping dead in my tracks, I turned to stare up the hill to the barely visible roofs of the restaurants. My feet dragged me, tripping and stumbling, up the grassy hill.

Haku would be up there, waiting for me! He'd twirl me up into his arms and…oh it just makes me turn into a big, fat, red tomato just thinking of the possibilities!

Everything twisted into tight knots inside my body. It was too good to be true! I'd see Lin again! We'd chatter about everything I had missed and go around the bathhouse, getting into trouble. Oh and Kamaji, he'd be in the boiler room working away…wonder if those fuzz balls remember me? Oh it doesn't matter! I'd see all my friends again like No-face, and Yubaba, and Boh, and Granny and…and…

The hill crested and there I stood, looking over the town I had come to love…

Laying in ruins.

"What…?" I whispered as my eyes widened, taking in the landscape.

Everything was desolate; no lights were on even though it was getting close to opening time. The shops were boarded up or crumbling to the ground. Was the bathhouse even open? Squinting in its direction, I saw the huge building but even that monster of a structure looked dim and solemn.

It was time to go see Haku and Yubaba, only they could explain to me what had happened here.

Sliding down the grassy hill was easy, the grass easing my descent. I landed with a thud and pushed off, running at full speed. Shops whizzed by me and the occasional spirit stared at my passing with hollow, hopeless eyes. What had happened here? Why did everything look so…dead? Where were the luscious scents of food, the sounds of chattering spirits, the high-pitched music of the land of the spirits?

The bridge to the bathhouse appeared before me like an omen, whether good or bad was yet to be known. I slowed down and came to a stop in the center of the bridge, looking at it with a critical eye.

A bittersweet smile spread across my face. This bridge held so many memories. It was here that I met Haku, where he enchanted me in more ways than one and now look at it! The poor thing was in shambles! There was a hole the size of my father's belly and let me tell you that was a pretty _big_ belly! The boards in general looked sunbaked, as if they had not been repaired and the _dust_! It covered everything, even the railings!

"This is bad." I muttered, walking over the grab onto the squeaky railing, bending over to try to peak at the train going beneath the venerable bridge.

"It cannot be!" A voice cried, nearly scaring me out of ten years of my life. A huge shiver spread through my skin as I whipped to stare wide eyed at a squat, frog man that looked all too familiar.

"Ao-aogaeru-san?" I stuttered, shocked at seeing the very first of my friends. His amphibian eyes began to twinkle as his mouth pulled into the widest grin in the world.

"Sen-chan!" It didn't take him more than a second to throw himself at my feet in a formal bow. "It is good to see you! It has been so long!" He blabbered hurriedly as I chuckled, kneeling to be as close to his height as possible which was quite a feat considering he was how tall?...Three feet at most.

"It is good to see you too, Aogaeru-san." My voice cracked as he stared up at me with adoring eyes. He brought back so many memories that had been locked away…it hurt to have them come rushing back in the time span of a few minutes.

"We will have a room prepared for you instantly…well, as instantly as we can…" he corrected, trailing off and look at the floor as if it held some secret information he was trying to discern.

I guess it was time to ask. A part of me wanted to just get the damn question over with but another part of me was frightened and terrified of the answer.

"Aogaeru-san, what happened here?" I asked softly. His tough skin bristled and made him look even more froggy if that was even possible.

"It-it is not my place to tell…I do not know the whole story since I am only a humble servant." He muttered sadly.

"Then who would know?" He deliberated for a while before slanting his eyes to the side.

"Kamaji-san. He hears all the things which is a wonder considering that he spends his days in the boiler…Yubaba-sama would know but she…" he trailed off again.

"She what Aogaeru-san?"

"Not my place to say." He muttered again.

"Aogaeru-san!" A window burst open and a frantic woman stuck her head out the window, "come quick! Another one has fallen!" The woman flew back into the bathhouse, shutting the window with a bang. The frog glanced at me then back at the bathhouse before standing.

_Another one has fallen_? What does that mean? Aogaeru was looking a little green, well green-_er, _then usual. Something told me this had to do with the decrepit ruins that the Land of the Spirits had fallen into.

"Aogaeru-san, what does she mean?" I asked firmly. He shook his head.

"Speak to Kamaji-san, he will tell you." And with that, the frog sped back into the bathhouse leaving me to stumble after him.

"Wait!" I yelled but it was too late, the doors were shut and I was left standing on the bridge.

Now what? My hands twitched anxiously as my mind sorted through what to do. Going to look for Haku on my own didn't seem plausible, the Kamis only know where he was and going back home was completely out of the question. That only left me with Kamaji…

The sun was set and it was almost pitch black even this near to the bathhouse. It should be bustling with people, steam bursting from the chimneys but there was hardly any sign of life in the place.

"Kamaji-san it is." I muttered, walking over to the little gate that Haku had taken me through to escape Yubaba so many years ago.

* * *

The boiler room was sweltering, more so than usual. Steam billowed around me in wispy clouds as I treaded through the hissing pipes. Peaking around the door, I saw Kamaji, eternally working away in front of the frothing boiler. His four spindly arms worked tirelessly at the herbs and at the handle that kept stoking the fire. The spider eyes were hidden behind black sun glasses like objects but the frown on his face screamed concentration.

The fuzzy balls whizzed by below on the floor, carrying the heavy rocks. Oh, those rocks were impossible to lift. A smile crossed my face as the memory of the time when I had to carry a rock into the furnace came back to me.

"Kamaji-san." I called, finally deciding to speak. The old man started and turned to look at me, his mouth dropping open.

"Sen-chan? It can't be you!" He cried incredulously. A chuckle escaped me as the fuzz balls rushed around me feet whispering happily. It'd probably be a good idea to leave my shoes with them so that's what I did, sitting down on the edge behind Kamaji and slipping off my school loafers and socks.

"Hello, Kamaji-san." I said looking up at him.

"Oh Sen-chan!" He stopped the boiler causing my eyebrows to shoot up into my bangs. "What?" He asked, curious about my shocked expression. "Oh, the boiler? You're confused about why I stopped the boiler?"

"Well, yes!" I said, "what will happen to the baths of the customers?"

"Sen-chan, there aren't any customers." He said coming to sit next to me.

Something came to a stuttering stop inside my chest. No…customers?! That was impossible. The bathhouse was always full to brim with spirits how could there be _no customers_?! This was a very bad sign. Yes, _very_ bad indeed.

I pulled my hands across my face, pulling at my skin in frustration. This was it, I had to ask Kamaji about what had happened!

"Kamaji-san," I started, "what is happening here? What has happened? Why is everything in disrepair?" Kamaji stood and looked at me from the corner of his eyes, "Why are there no customers but most importantly…WHERE IS HAKU??" I yelled at the top of my lungs, feeling my cheeks turn red from the anger.

"Calm down, Sen-chan." He soothed, patting my shoulder. I would have none of that, pushing his hand off my shoulder with a shrug.

"I will _not_ calm down! You have to tell me what has happened here!"

Kamaji stayed quiet for a while, pensively pacing back and forth across the floor. The fuzz balls whined from behind me, their eyes going wide in fright. A small smile upturned the edges of my lips.

"Don't worry." I cooed, "everything is alright." They looked between each other before sliding away from the ledge and into their little homes with a rattling sound.

"Unfortunately everything is not alright." He sighed gently causing me to turn back around to look at him.

"Are you going to tell me what is happening?" _Please, please tell me why everything is in so much disorder…_

"I think it's better if I show you some things first." He knelt down and pushed open the wooden door that led deep into the service area of the bathhouse.

"Show me what?" I asked as he pushed himself through the door with some difficulty, his arms getting stuck on the edges of the door. With a final tug, he pulled himself to the other side stumbling as he gained his balance.

"Well, firstly to see Lin." He said. My eyes lit up at the prospect of seeing her again. Kamaji's face, though, was closed and silent. This didn't look to be a social visit.

"Why do you have that expression on your face?" I asked, slipping through the door with ease and sliding it shut behind me.

He didn't answer. He just kept walking, weaving around the columns and leaving me to follow after him. Damn it, for a spider spirit he sure could walk fast! What did he have, a jet pack on his back? His feet like hands pounded a steady staccato against the wooden floor as my bare feet slapped furiously to keep up with him. Up and down we went until we reached an elevator.

"Ladies first." He motioned for me to enter. I chuckled, sliding into the elevator and waiting for him to crouch down and slip into the small shaft.

"Up it is." He muttered as he pulled on a lever that sent us flying up into the upper floors of the bathhouse.

For a few minutes all we saw was darkness. He didn't speak. Neither did I and as such we kept our silence around us like a cloak protecting us. We both knew that the minute we started speaking secrets would spill and it was not the proper time for secrets. My breathing was ragged from nerves and anxiety, nothing would calm it not even the deep breathing practices I had learned in yoga class.

We burst into a realm of light and I whirled around to stare down at the bathhouse. My breath caught in my throat until nothing was left but the smallest of gasps. My hands gripped the wood of the elevator as we rose higher into the air.

There below us, instead of the teaming baths I remembered and loved, was rows upon rows of beds and what looked like a spirit on every one.

I turned to stare at Kamaji with wide eyes. He looked at me with an unreadable gaze. Something was stuck in my throat but nothing would dislodge it from its place. A shiver ran up my spine as my mouth opened to ask the question that I seemed to be repeating over and over again lately.

"What. _Happened_?" I whispered.

"Patience." He answered. I raised my hand, curled it into a fist, and banged it against the elevator's walls. "We're almost at Lin's room." He continued, ignoring me.

"You're in danger of having your throat slit." I hissed. He chuckled, causing his rickety bones to knock together, giving off a sound resembling death.

"You could not hurt me Sen-chan." He said with his grandfatherly chuckle. I huffed and turned to face the spirits below writhing on their beds in agony. When we fell silent I began to hear it.

The screams…the groans of the dying.

Covering my ears didn't help, the sounds were faint from this height but still they reached my weak human ears. My heart broke again as tears gathered behind my eyelids. What had happened to my beautiful spirit realm? The tears streamed down my cheeks and quivering lips as every ounce of strength went into not openly sobbing for the suffering spirits below.

The elevator stopped and Kamaji got out first, squeezing through the doorway and waiting for me to trip out of the elevator. He stared at me with a pained expression as I wiped away the few traitorous tears that had fallen from my eyes.

"Take me to Lin." I muttered, looking up at him with frozen eyes. His face didn't even flinch for a second and it seemed as if he hadn't heard me but before I could even think to repeat my request, he pivoted away from me.

He walked briskly as my human legs tried to keep up his pace. Well, he had one of the most fluid walking paces I had ever seen. Kamaji moved more like a spider thread in the wind than an actual person walking. We turned left and kept speeding through empty hallways. Again we turned and on it went, turning and walking through hallway after hallways where there was no other person.

We finally turned into one hallway where there were a few more people, all with masks. One of the women, a haggard expression permanently etched into her eyes, turn to us. Her eyes widened as she ran up to us.

"Kamaji-san! You cannot be up here without a mask!" She rummaged around her pocket, looking for one before making a noise of triumph as she pulled a white mask out.

"Arigato Gozaimasu." Kamaji said as he pulled the mask on over his bushy mustache. The woman bowed and then turned her eyes to me, her eyebrows furrowing.

"Does the girl need one?" She asked as we passed by her, bowing slightly in her direction.

"No, she's human." Kamaji said simply. The woman gasped as I turned to look at her. Her black eyes were round with disbelief.

"A human?" She asked as we kept walking. Kamaji ignored her so I decided to do the same as I turned around to walk up to a closed wooden door.

"Open the doors." Kamaji said to the two guards. They hesitated and looked at the both of us like we had grown a few heads in the last two minutes.

"But-" One of them started to say. Kamaji fixed them with a hard stare that sent them quivering. "Yes sir!" They repeated at the same time. The doors were pushed opened and a breeze from within the room burst out and straight to us.

I breathed in…

My breath left in a hacking cough as I fell to the floor, the stench making my eyes burn. Kamaji knelt next to me patting my back.

"You smell it?" He questioned. I breathed slightly and nodded, not having breath to form a response. "Not many have that power," he muttered and I did not understand him, "it will get better." He said as he lifted me up, placing me on my feet.

Kami! I swallowed, feeling the bitter taste infuse my throat. It smelled like rotting, soggy corpses in there! Kamaji pushed me into the room and I hung onto his arm, scared of walking into the foul smelling room. He nodded and motioned for me to walk in. Damn it, this was not going to be good!

I stepped in and was shocked to see about ten rows of beds, each with a person on the bed. They were quiet, not like the spirits down stairs. Most of the people didn't move and this scared me more than the shaking bodies downstairs. My curiosity won out and I stepped up to one of the spirits.

An emaciated, sore-filled face stared back at me. My mouth dried instantly as I stared at the black craters that covered all of the skin of this man. His mouth opened and the same stench came back ten folds. My knees shook from the stench.

I could _see_ his skeleton beneath his skin. My stomach churned and my eyes watered. He tried to say something but it came out like a gurgled growl.

That did it for me.

Kamaji grabbed me as my feet tripped over air in my haste to get away from the living corpse. He held my arms as my whole body twitched and turned, a panic setting in deep in my bones. Small little cries echoed from my throat as my legs twitched, trying to scramble away from the man. My entire mind was only on the panic to get _away._

"Ssh." Kamaji whispered as he led me away from the man who followed me with pit like eyes. He led me around the rows of beds and silent, dying spirits. They stared at us without making a sound.

"Wha-what is this room?" I asked as we weaved around bed trying to get to some unknown destination.

"This is where we put all those that are too far gone." He whispered as we stopped before another door. He pushed this one open and we walked into a smaller room. Only about five beds were in this room. I looked about, noticing the window opened to let some air into the otherwise stuffy room.

And there was Lin, sitting up in her bed, looking out the window. My heart lodged itself in my throat as a sob pushed itself out of my mouth. She turned to me, her eyes not focusing on me.

"Who's there?!" She asked in a throaty voice.

"It's me." I croaked. "It's SenI" I cried. She stayed silent for a minute before turning in my general direction.

"That's impossible!" She argued. "Sen-chan is long gone!"

"It's me!" I yelled, running up to her and causing the other spirits in the room to turn to look at me with sleepy faces. "It's me Lin-chan!" I sobbed wrapping my arms around her stiff torso. "Remember I asked you if there were two Hakus?" She stiffened even more.

"And I said that the world could barely handle one…oh!" She cried hugging me. "Oh Sen-chan!" Tears slipped down her eyes, "I can't even see you!"

"Why? Why can't you see me?" I asked, kneeling next to her bed.

"Sorry Lin-san." Kamaji said causing Lin to start and look around frantically.

"Kamaji-san?" She asked stretching out her hand. He grasped it in his causing Lin to calm slightly. "You're here?"

"I brought her here." He whispered.

"But you haven't told her?" She asked. Kamaji hesitated and looked at me with solemn eyes. What had happened to the witty, funny spider I had known? Was he under all that sadness?

"No. I was hoping you'd help me tell the story." He asked. Lin smiled and huffed, trying to hide the slight smile.

"Course I'll help you, you old spider." She chuckled.

Kamaji then turned to me and motioned for me to sit next to Lin. I complied hurriedly, wishing to hear the story. He cleared his throat and nodded before dropping to sit before me.

"Alright, I will tell you, Sen-chan, the story of what started the day after you left…almost five hundred years ago."

* * *

Thanks to strayphoenix, my fantastic beta, who finds time in her crazy life to double check my chapters!

Reviews are really appreciated! It's the only way I know if you are liking the story or not!

Kikyo


	4. The Story of the Fall

Chapter 4: The Story of the Fall

A/N: I'm sooo grateful to all the people that reviewed! I actually told one of my reviewers that I'd post this chapter either Friday of Saturday and here it is! Woo Hoo! I kept my promise!

P.S. Thank you so much to my beta strayphoenix! She's awesome as a writer and a beta!

Disclaimer: I do not own Spirited Away, it is the property of Studio Ghibli and Hayao Miyazaki. Please don't sue! I don't make any profit out of this!

* * *

"I-I've been gone for 500 years?!" I cried, clutching my heart as if it were in pain.

"Hai, 500 years," Lin said patting my head, her arms covered in scars. My lips quivered as I touched her arms, feeling the rough, rotten skin below my fingers.

"Lin." A ghost of a whisper echoed from my throat.

"It's alright," she wheezed weakly, "it doesn't hurt that much anymore."

"So you're getting better?" _Please Kami, let her be getting better!_

They stayed silent for a long time, neither answering nor even looking at me. Lin, of course, could not see me but Kamaji refused to meet my eyes. A constricting feeling filled my being as my legs turned to jelly.

"It is better if I keep going with the story." Kamaji murmured, waiting for my response.

It took some time for me to be able to talk through the block in my throat. Nothing would come out no matter how hard I tried. Finally, a small croaky voice emerged, urging Kamaji on.

"Let us then start with Haku-san." Even the mention of his name didn't cause my heart to flutter so occupied was my mind on Lin's predicament.

"H-hai." I stuttered, "Haku first!" A hollow smile crossed my lips.

"Well, Haku-san declared his independence from Yubaba-sama just after you left the land of the spirits. He stated that he would not work for her unless he was her equal."

"Oh that caused Yubaba-sama to have a conniption!" Lin laughed harshly and then stopped, bending over and hacking into her fisted hands.

"You alright?" My hand patted her back gently, trying to calm her coughing fit. She waved me off not wanting my help.

"Keep," she stopped to expectorate again, "keep going Kamaji-san." Her voice wavered, threatening to leave.

"Yes, well," Kamaji cleared his throat and flashed his eyes at me before continuing.

Was this normal? Did she usually cough like she was throwing up a lung? Science might not be my forte but…coughing that hard wasn't a good sign. Ever.

"Haku-san had to leave the bathhouse after his discussion with Yubaba-sama. She just would not let him stay after he rebelled!" Kamaji paused for a minute then laughed and laughed. It sounded like a cross between an old man's laugh and the brittle sound of wood breaking

"What's so funny, Kamaji-san?" It was impossible to contain the smile that lifted the corners of my mouth as I kept patting Lin on the back every so often.

"Oh, it's nothing Sen-chan," he chuckled again, "it's just that Haku-san put up a dozen harmless traps up in Yubaba-sama's quarters before leaving!" He roared with laughter. "You should have seen her after she ran through all the traps! Ho! Ho!" He slapped his knee. "She was red with fury, spouting fire from her mouth, and screaming bloody murder!"

Lin started to chortle and the mental image made me chuckle slightly. Oh, Haku! I knew you had it in you to get away from Yubaba's grubby hands!

The laugh died bitterly in my throat as Lin coughed once again. It was impossible to laugh when my friend was suffering right next to me. My fingers swpet across her back the coughing fit shuddering through her very bones.

"Ah!" Kamaji sighed, bringing us to attention. Lin's cough calmed slightly as she nodded for us to continue.

"So what did Haku do next?"

"Well, that's where everything begins to get fuzzy." Kamaji rubbed a hand across his face, "you remember that powerful river spirit you managed to clean?"

Hmm…river spirit, river spirit, river—oh! Yes of course! The one we thought was a stink spirit. That reminded me; I owed him tremendously for giving me that healing medicine.

"Hai, I remember."

"He offered to train Haku-san to be a powerful river spirit so he could go back to the land of the living and create his own river." Kamaji smiled.

"No!" I cried, "that's wonderful!" My heart soared despite the sorrow. Haku could get his river back! He'd be able to come back and stay in my world permanently. The prospect was so amazing my limbs started twitching with excitement.

"This is what I don't understand, though," Lin piped in.

"What?" I asked. Kamaji nodded to her and looked at me with drawn eyebrows.

"He swore to go looking for you after he finished his training." Kamaji rubbed his chin in contemplation.

"Then he's probably still training." My voice was forceful with confidence. Kamaji didn't seem to be as assured as me and Lin's frown only made me even more doubtful.

"What?" I asked them.

"Sen-chan, what you don't understand is that the river promised to finish his training with Haku-san after 300 years…it's been 500 so why hasn't he found you?"

My heart stopped. My hand smoothed over the area where it should be beating but instead of the steady rhythm I heard frantic, irregular cannon fire. This-this wasn't happening. There was a logical, perfect explanation for this. Haku was—I mean, he—no, wait…no, he just didn't—couldn't have, b-but how—no!

No…no, no, no!

My head dropped to my chest to hide my twinkling eyes. They couldn't see me like this; they'd think I was the same sniveling, spoiled little girl that had come hesitantly through the gate of the land of the spirits. And I was further from that than they even knew

"So," I said, my voice sounded foreign to my ears, "what do you think happened to him?"

"Worst case scenario?" His voice lifted as if in a question. Kamaji was asking me for permission to say the death sentence. My head felt like lead as it bobbed up and down in a nod.

"He died from the disease."

Some sort of…sound, for lack of a better word, emerged from my throat before my mouth closed to lock it in. Lin sat up and wrapped her arms around me in a very un-Lin like hug.

Her arms were shaking. That's funny, why was she shaking? Actually, now that I noticed, everything seemed to be trembling around me.

Oh. It was me who was shaking…and crying.

My hands gripped her arms as my tears felt silently, crashing like bullets against the comforter. Kamaji fiddled with his fingers not knowing what to do, or say. Poor man, I was causing him to stress even more.

"This is the worst case scenario, Sen-chan." He soothed as soon as my tears seemed to ease.

"Then what's the best?" My voice wavered.

"He might still be training with the river spirit or he might be trying to establish himself as a mighty river spirit before coming to look for you--"

"Or he might have found another woman to love." My voice was small and quiet and I wasn't sure where it came from but it stopped Kamaji like a bomb.

No one spoke for a minute. Lin froze and then grabbed my shoulders turning me to look at her. Those sightless eyes seemed to have regained their ability, burrowing into mine as she growled low.

"Now you listen here, Sen-chan!" She snapped, "Haku-san was and still _is_ madly in love with you! Don't you doubt it!" She gave me a shake for good measure.

"I…I want to believe you…"

"Then just do!" She frowned and stared into my eyes again.

"Alright."

"Good." Her eyes twinkled and another smile blossomed on my face as she smiled back at me as if knowing that it was what I needed.

Something swept across her black orbs then. She blinked, her eyebrows creasing. Again, the something passed across her vision. Lin froze before slamming her hands on my shoulders causing me to topple off the bed and onto the floor.

"Kamaji-san!" Lin cried as if she was dying, "help m—"

Her voice just shut off and an unearthly grinding noise echoed from her throat, like a groan crossed with a growl. The features of her face morphed until Lin looked more like a rabid dog than a spirit; wide, unseeing eyes, claw-like fingers, and lips pulled back. She crawled towards me, her hair sliding over her face making her look like something out of a horror movie.

"_Se_-n," Lin croaked. It didn't even sound like her! She sounded possessed and dangerous. "You _left_ me Sen!" She shrieked launching herself at me.

A scream ripped from my throat as I crouched down readying myself for the blow.

It never came and my eyes opened, curiosity winning out. Kamaji stood cradling a sleeping Lin in his arms. He sighed, carrying her back to her bed. Her breathing was steady and she looked like an innocent angel. No trace of the rabid demon remained on her face.

"Ka-kamaji-san?"

"Ssh!" He admonished, standing to turn towards me, "I will explain after we have left." With an iron grip he grabbed my arm and pulled me up. My legs trembled as he led me out, out, out of the rooms not pausing even for breath.

We kept walking some distance away from the sick rooms and yet he would not stop. He kept tugging me along even when I protested.

"Kamaji-san!" Tugging at his arms produced little effect. "Kamaji-san!" Nothing.

"KAMAJI-SAN!" My voice rose to the top of its power and bellowed out of my throat. That pretty much caught his attention and his hand let go of my arm instinctively.

"Gomen nasai, Sen-chan." He murmured, shifting from foot to spidery foot in front of the elevator.

"Can you just explain to me," I growled at him, rubbing my bruised wrist, "what happened back there?"

"Lin went into a period of madness."

"Why?" I fired back.

"Because, it is part of the final stage of the disease." My head tipped back and as everything seemed to become heavy.

"She's not getting better." It was a statement, not a question.

"No, no one gets better from this." He murmured, looking to the side. My fingers massaged my suddenly tired eyes. There were still things he would not bring to the light and it was high time he told me!

"Explain. _Everything_." It was best that I knew what it was that I was fighting.

"This disease was made," he said. He paused for breath and then let it out in a rushing hiss, "by Boh-kun."

"Boh-kun? The baby? But he's not a magician!" That baby was harmless! Kamaji had to be wrong.

"Boh-kun didn't evolve into a magician more powerful than his mother until years after your departure." Kamaji explained.

"Why did he do this?" Questions were busting to leave and they would not be still until I had spoke them into being.

"He did it because of you."

"Me?" An incredulous squeak scrabbled up my throat.

"Hai, he waited for you but when Haku-san didn't bring you back, evil thoughts brewed in his mind. He wanted you for himself, his thoughts of you became corrupted. After a while, he deluded himself into believing he was madly in love with you. Because of his corrupted mind, he believed that the only way to get you back was to destroy the spirit realm so you would come back to save it." Kamaji took a breath to let it sink in.

And boy did it sink in, all the way to the center of the earth. My legs sunk right along with the truth.

Not happening, _not_ happening…

But it was.

"So, I'm to blame for this." I whispered.

"H-hai, in a convoluted way. You couldn't have stopped it either way, Sen-chan," Kamaji knelt beside me. We stayed silent for some time; me fiddling with my hands and Kamaji patting my head.

"This disease," I started, "how far does it progress?"

Kamaji sat silent as a stone for a while, not moving almost not breathing. His eyes scrutinized his hands. Oh please tell me Lin didn't have to suffer much longer!

"The first stage is the one you saw as you rode up the elevator," he intoned as if reading from a phone book, "the pain is excruciating, boils pop up all throughout the body and within the person as well. Their bones ache, their muscles ache, _everything_ hurts. They can't keep anything in."

"Then what?" I prompted when he didn't seem to be forthcoming with information.

"Then is the second stage, the one you saw in the first room. We call this the silent stage because the victims grow calmer but, inversely, the disease becomes more aggressive. Darker, more prominent boils appear, the eyes sink into the skull and all the muscles and fat are consumed until the body is mere skin and bones, literally." Kamaji looked up from his scrutiny of the floor, fixing his insect eyes on me.

"The last stage," my voice sounded alien to my ears, "that's Lin-san's stage, isn't it?" It was pronounced like a death sentence.

"Hai." One word to kill the soul. "That is the stage Lin-san is in."

There was a pause as time seemed to hiccup before restarting again, leaving everything changed in its wake.

"What does this stage entail."

"Madness," he whispered. "When the disease first appeared, we believed that the victims were getting better when they reached this stage. You see," he waved his arms around slightly; "the boils and the fevers go away at this point. Suddenly, miraculously, they regain all the weight they had shed and more!" He stared at me, arms uplifted in a supplication, breathing erratic.

"But…?" I broke him out of his joyous trance and tossed him back to earth. He swallowed and sighed rubbing a hand behind his head.

"They become mad. The victims' dementia starts with short bursts of rabid anger that get slowly longer and longer until they lose their sanity. Everything that used to even slightly bother them before now becomes their hated enemy." Kamaji finished with a sigh.

"What?" He didn't make any sense!

"For example," he began, "Lin-san, just a few moments ago, almost attacked you right?"

"Hai, I remember." It would forever be engrained in the very facets of my memories.

"It is because she was depressed about your departure after you went back to the real world. It didn't anger her: just bothered her. Now, though, with the disease, her depression has mutated into a frothing venegance." My shoulders shook as he watched me closely.

"So, she hates me?"

"When she is in her maddened form, yes, she does." He placed a hand on my shoulder gripping it to let me know that he was here to help me, that I was not alone.

"What can I do?" My voice sounded frail, pitiful.

He took in a breath and let it out in slowly. His long fingers rubbed against his chin, thinking and considering. My muscles…no, my soul was tired. It couldn't even be described by bodily aches. This pain was deeper than any organic tissue.

My mind was silent, too. It was a void with no sounds where no amount of effort would cause a thought to even to flicker across my brain. This was depression, this was hopelessness. No wonder people felt like…like falling asleep and never waking up. It would be horrible to wake up to this feeling every day.

And it hit me. This is how Lin must feel and how every other victim must feel. Every morning they woke to look at the ceiling and wonder, 'Is this the day I die? Will this be the day I never wake from my madness? Is this the day I kill my loved ones because I do not remember who they are?'

How did they live? I would have opted to die long ago…

If it were possible, my soul clenched even tighter against the agony. My hands were folded in on themselves, mimicking what was happening within me.

Kamaji stood suddenly, moving fluidly to tower over me. Indecision swam across his face as he glanced from me to the elevator and then back to me.

"You should see someone." He breathed, not really paying attention to what he was saying.

"Who?" I asked.

"But I do not know if you should see that person…" well, so much for answering my question. He looked enveloped in his own thoughts and did not remember that I was right in front of him.

"I will have to see them sooner or later." That caught his attention, he swiveled back to look at me then, after a great long pause to deliberate some more, he nodded stiffly.

"Come." He reached down to help me to my feet.

"Where?" I asked as he tugged me to the elevator. We stepped in and the door shut behind us with a final click.

"To see Yubaba-sama," the elevator rose sharply causing it to screech against the shaft walls. A crazed, cackling sound echoed as if someone was getting a kick out of my terror.

* * *

About the huge helping of angst…sorry if it might have hit a nerve on some people. I know near death experiences are hard (trust me I know) but the only way to show how horrible this disease is, is to emphasize the agony the victims are going through. Just thought I should put an explanation for Chihiro-chan's dark thoughts.

Also, the disease is fictional, to my knowledge. I just took a bunch of symptoms from other diseases like the Plague, Alzheimer's, etc. to create this whopper of a bug. What can I say, I love medical stuff! So, what did you think? Amazing? Sad? Loved it? Please do tell me, I like to hear what you think!

Alright! Small dictionary of Japanese phrases!

Gomen nasai – sorry  
Hai – yes  
Ohaiyo gozaimasu – good morning  
Konnichiwa – good afternoon  
Sayonara – goodbye  
Iie – no  
Kuso - shit

That's all the phrases for now, if use any others I'll explain them!

Kikyo


	5. Yubaba

Chapter 5: Yubaba

A/N: Thank you to everyone that reviewed! The reviews are what keep me going. So, onto the chapter.

P.S. Thanks again to my beta Strayphoenix

Disclaimer: I don't own Spirited Away or any of its characters. Spirited Away is the property of Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli. I'm not getting any profit from this story so please don't sue!!

* * *

The elevator stopped and the doors clicked open. The hall was the same, tackily opulent with gold and jewels. Kamaji didn't stop to admire everything like I did, though. Instead, he kept walking straight to Yubaba's huge double doors.

They swung open without a hesitation. Didn't that door have an enchantment on it? Why was it opening now without any help? Weird.

"Come," Kamaji called when I didn't follow him inside. Starting, I tripped in after him, scraping my school loafers against the wooden floor.

The halls were as winding as when Yubaba dragged me through them eight years ago. It was dark in here, increasingly so. The gold decorations looked dull and old compared to the brilliant vibrance of before. Gone were the flickering candles whose light echoed off the walls and mirrors. Even the once shining wooden floor was opaque.

Life was missing from these passages. The walls, the fixtures, everything told the story of someone who had lived here before, someone who loved all things beautiful but who was now long gone.

We walked closer and closer to Yubaba's lair, inching forward like a funeral procession. Something rumbled through the walls causing the chandeliers to shake and floor to tremble and groan. My legs shook as my balance swung precariously.

"Woah!" I yelled, falling flat on my ass. Kamaji turned to stare at me rubbing my soar appendage. A rolling chuckle bubbled up from his belly as he stretched one hand to help me up. I took it graciously, trying to save my bruised pride.

"Suppose you want to know what that was, eh?" he asked turning to keep leading the way to Yubaba's office.

"Hai."

"That was Yubaba-sama."

My breath left me in a rush.

"How?" If she could do that to just the walls…then what would she be able to do to my pitiful human body?!

"She is extremely powerful," he told me gravely, "never forget that." We turned another corner and we were in front of Yubaba's office.

An enormous scream echoed from inside. Instinctively I retreated away from the doors as Kamaji put an arm on my lower back to prevent me from turning and making a break for it.

"Do not be afraid, I will protect you," he soothed as he reached with another of his enormous arms and pushed open that door.

"Yubaba-sama?" he called as we stepped into the room bathed in fading light. My eyes widened as they took in the room completely disregarding Kamaji who closed the door behind me.

There was nothing left intact within the room. Glass, wood, metal, dust, _everything_ was mixed together and thrown around the room like a macabre form of confetti. The once luxurious fire place was boarded up as were the windows.

"K-Kamaji-san?" I called the get his attention.

"Hmm?" He said as he paced around the room, opening doors, looking for Yubaba.

"What is that?" The things covering the walls and the floors…it just didn't make sense.

"Those are claw marks." He sighed. The hairs on the back of my neck rose as I brought my arms to wrap around my torso.

"Yubaba-sama did that?"

"Hai, she did."

"I did what exactly?" A new voice called. We turned to stare at the same pudgy old lady that had dominated my life for months while I was in the land of the spirits.

Her expression was transformed, she looked so calm and happy. Not her usual sly and shrewd smirk. Where was Yubaba and who had replaced her with this pathetic copy?!

"Sen-chan?" she called, her usually strict bun was replaced with long flowing hair. The white dress she had on billowing around her like a halo. "Is that you, Sen-chan?"

"H-hai, it is." She beamed at me, coming forward quickly and gripping my arms in welcome.

"Oh it's so—"

Then it was like her eyes caught on fire. Her voice came to a grating halt as her eyes shifted from happy to extreme anger.

The fingers on my arms turned to claws, piercing my skin like butter. A scream echoed from my throat right before Kamaji pried Yubaba off of me.

Her outfit had changed, replaced with a black tunic and her once smooth hair was ragged and oily. The screeches that ripped from her throat would have gone better with a ravenous bird of prey.

"My baby, SEN! My _BABY_!" Her voice seemed to echo around my head like a mantra. Not even covering my ears would shut out the sound. "You _killed_ my baby, SE-NN! My _baby! _I'll have your—"

Again her voice changed and her eyes dulled to an expression I had come to associate with Yubaba-sama. Her blue dress reappeared on her body and the strict bun pulled her hair into order.

"Put me down you half-wit spider!" she commanded.

"Of course madam." He placed her on her feet. She staggered towards me, her eyes trying to flash back to madness. But she was fighting it.

"The irony!" she yelled, her voice shifting from madness to sanity. Her steps wavered as she walked right up to me and stared into my eyes.

"Um…what irony?" I asked, trying to be encouraging and not show how terrified I really was. She sighed and turned around, almost waltzing around the room.

"The _irony_…SE-NN!" She yelled my name in that crazed voice that was quickly making me cringe.

"I don't understand!" I yelled back.

Suddenly she turned back to look at me looking completely normal. Yubaba glanced at Kamaji then at me again.

"You're here again?" she asked.

"I've been here for a while Yubaba-sama!" My eye twitched. It was started to get exasperating now.

"No you haven't," she growled, "you just got here!" Now that was Yubaba, always thinking she was right.

"Alright, whatever you say." My voice sounded hollow even to my ears.

"Of course!" She sniffed and looked around the room, "now where's that pesky Haku. Tell him to take you down to the servants quarters so you can get to work!" My heart constricted as she said his name as if he were going to appear through the door at any second.

"Yubaba-sama," Kamaji said interrupting her scrutiny of her room.

"What?" she snapped.

"He's not here, he left." Her body froze as she turned to look at Kamaji then at me.

Her outfit shifted again and in her place was a woman covered from head to toe in black, young, and thin. Yubaba's blue eyes stared out at me from behind the shroud, thin rivulets of tears falling from her eyes.

"Get out of here Sen-chan," her voice resounded, "Or I will kill you with my bare hands"

"Yubaba-sama…"

My heart shattered as she looked down at her wrinkleless hands.

"Tell me, is there any way to stop this disease?" A smile spread across her face as she turned to look at me, not answering.

"Yubaba-sama?" I tried again.

"Kamaji-san," she ignored me turning to look at the spider. "How is your Lin-chan?"

_His_ Lin-chan? What? My eyes widened to orbs as the old geezer blushed profusely. He mumbled something and then looked away.

"They're in love?" I asked incredulous, my thoughts shifting from Yubaba to Kamaji. Yubaba turned to look at me with young youthful eyes. It was so hard to connect her with the old witch I knew; she was just a different person.

"Of course, they have been for centuries but they never had the courage to say anything…" she trailed off and stepped towards Kamaji, "I'm sorry, old friend, I'm sorry that is too late to save your love."

He nodded stiffly and Yubaba turned around to look at me with huge eyes.

"I am most sorry to you as well."

"Why?" I asked.

"For things you will never know about." She smiled at me.

Her body froze, her head jerking back. A wordless scream curdled from her throat. She convulsed while still standing causing her entire body to go into one seamless spasm.

"Yubaba-sama!" I cried running to try and get to her.

"No!" Kamaji stopped me, grasping me around my middle. No amount of twitching and battling was going to get him to let me go and so we stood there watching Yubaba continue to convulse.

Finally, the twitches stopped and she fell to the floor in a heap. Still Kamaji wouldn't let me down. He held me up even when I cried for freedom.

"She's dead." He intoned. My body froze as I watched, eyes wide, as her body seemed to lose air like a popped balloon. Her skin, muscles, and organs dried, crackled and fell off, leaving a clean smooth skeleton.

It couldn't be helped.

A scream poured out of my throat for every person that was destined to die like this, for everyone that was suffering, and for the young Yubaba that had died before my eyes. The scream trickled off until it became a soft whimpering that came from my very soul.

Somewhere, distantly, it came to me that Kamaji was moving. He must have led me out of the room and out of Yubaba's lair at super sonic speed or I fell unconscious because a few seconds later, I was in front of the elevator.

"Sen-chan?" he asked as he put me on my feet. My fingers caught every tears that slipped out of my eyes as my breathing eased.

"I'm fine." The tone in my voice said different.

"Of course." Kamaji didn't fall for it as he stepped into the elevator and pulled the lever down.

We descended in silence going through floors upon floors of empty rooms and deserted spaces. Even when the screams of the dying permeated the air we kept descending. My body was numb and frigid, it hurt to even think about moving.

The elevator slowed, signaling its stop on the destined floor. It shuddered to a stop and the doors opened easily, showing us the servants' quarters that I had come to love. A ghost of a smile came over me as memories of a time long past came back. A different lifetime.

Now, the only thing missing were the servants running around trying to perform their duties. The halls were empty and foreboding in the dark night.

"Kamaji-san, where is everyone?"

"Working or sleeping by their work stations," he answered as we got closer to the women's quarters at the end of the hall.

"So no one is here?"

"No, unfortunately, you'll be alone." He slid open the door to the now empty sleeping area. There was only one mat at the far corner by the balcony. On it there was what looked like a change of clothes.

"Where will you be?" I asked turning to stop him from leaving.

"In the boiler."

"But—" Kamaji chuckled and stood patiently by the door.

"You will be fine, now I suggest you get some sleep, it'll be a long day tomorrow." He smiled as he started to slide the door close.

"Oyasuminasai, Sen-chan." Kamaji said finally shutting the door.

"Yeah, oyasuminasai Kamaji-san." I sighed turning to step over to the mat.

There where two changes of clothes, not just one like I said. The first looked like my uniform from before but the second, that one I had never seen. There was a pair of hakama that looked like something a Shinto priestess would wear, some type of undergarment and a kimono top. An outfit straight out of the Feudal era. The shoes were closed slipper looking things. Really, I couldn't describe them.

I wondered why I needed all these clothes. But I was _way_ too drained to give it any more thought.

I changed into my old uniform leaving off the outer kimono and just staying in the undergarments. My school uniform, the one that had been on me since the beginning of this crazy adventure was in need of some serious washing. My friends wouldn't mind washing it, I hoped so I folded them and left them on the side of the mat.

My eyes slid to the side and out the balcony to the dark night and the bright moon. Would Haku be staring at the sky and be thinking of me? Was he even alive? Did he start a whole other life without me? Was I even part of his memories? The tired ache grew even worse at the thoughts. It was time to go to sleep, no more thinking about painful things like Haku or Yubaba or Lin…no, put that from my mind.

My muscles breathed in relief as every single tendon settled into the soft mattress. The exhaustion was instant and all encompassing; it didn't even let me think about how lonely it was to be in this room by myself. The entire world sunk into the darkness as sleep won over my weathered brain.

* * *

Oyasuminasai – good night

Wonder what Yubaba meant by 'the irony' and why she was asked forgiveness from Chihiro? Hmmm…and the plot thickens!

The chapter was a little painful to write but I wasn't so depressed because I know what's gonna happen next!! Bet you want to know too, ne? Well, I'll probably have the next chapter up soon. Until then!

Kikyo


	6. Warriors and Catfish

Chapter 6: Warriors and Catfish

A/N: I'm on what I would like to call a writing frenzy. This usually happens when I'm writing something that I love so…it seems that I _really_ love Reign. It's funny, this hasn't happened to me since I wrote my first novel (don't look for it in bookstores, it's not published unfortunately). Just for the record, I finished my 1st novel in a month or so! (My beta's gonna kill me from how many chapters I'm dumping on her! Hee! Hee! Now to go hide from Stray!)

Enjoy the story and reviews, as always, are extremely appreciated!

Disclaimer: I do not own Spirited Away or any of its characters. Spirited Away is the property of Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli. Also, I'm not making a profit from this fic so please don't sue this very poor writer!

* * *

Mmmm, this dream was definitely odd. A soft fuzzy ball kept swishing at my nose. It felt weird; like the fur was hard? That didn't make any sense. The odd sensations made me begin to wake up from the warmth of slumber. Still the sensation persisted. Odd. Wasn't that supposed to leave with the dream?

My eyes blinked open and all I saw was white. After blinking a few times it didn't change.

And then, suddenly, it moved and instead of looking at white I was looking at a small, black eyed face.

"You awake?" she asked in an angelic voice.

It spoke. Oh. My. Kami! That did it.

I screamed and staggered back managing to hit every appendage on the floor and on the wall beside me as I struggled to stand up. She followed me with her eyes as a small smile spread across her face.

What was she?! The thing couldn't be more than three feet tall with massive amounts of white hair and black, pupiless eyes. Her skin gleamed like diamonds and was covered with a fine sheen of translucent fur. She looked like a weird cat-human. Am I _sure_ I'm not still dreaming?

"The human is awake!" she called in her little kid voice, "but I do not understand why she is screaming."

Who was she talking to? Me? Was she nuts or did she have that disease? Oh please tell me she was the former and not the late! I could deal with lunacy: just not that disease again!

"Well, she's probably afraid of you," a deep voice echoed from outside.

My muscles froze as I turned to stare out the glass doors to stare at a red haired boy sitting on the balcony railing outside. His hair wasn't just red, it was fire red with what looked like feathers sticking out from within its tangled masses. His slanted green jade eyes stared at me as my own eyes locked with his. Long feathered arms that ended with long bony fingers were crossed in a defiant look.

And his legs were wrong. They bent the wrong way, I mean, like a bird. Were those claws on his feet as well? Oh, yes they were! My eyes snapped back to his face as he smirked at me.

"Yo," he intoned.

That did it. Again.

"_KAMAJI_!"

I picked up my over kimono and ran from the room screaming. My feet pounded against the floor muffling the outraged cries from the two creatures in the room. The stairs seemed faster so my brain led my body instinctively down the steps. My arms pushed through the kimono's arms and then tied it shut without a thought.

Had to get to Kamaji, had to get to his boiler before the creatures got me! Tripping, sliding, and running down the stairs almost killed me. The bottom reached my face before my feet could touch it and there I was, laying, face flat on the floor, in pain and humiliation.

"Sen-chan!" Kamaji's voice called in surprise and worry as I groaned pitifully and struggled to get on my.

"Never mind that!" That wasn't the problem. Those people in my room were!

"What is it?" he asked, pulling me gently to my feet.

"Th-th-there are t-two people in my room!" My voice stuttered as a hundred different thoughts tried to come out at the same time.

"Ah!" Kamaji nodded wisely, "so they found your room"

What? What did he mean they found my room! This was not a good thing! Furry creatures and bird men were not supposed to be popping into my room or into my bed for that matter! If Kamaji had anything to do with this he was going to die a slow, painful death! How dare he!

"What?!" I yelled. He patted my shoulder as my muscles sprung up. And throbbed. Ow…

"I'm sorry they might have scared you but when you didn't come downstairs they decided to go up and wake you."

"Why…what…I still don't understand." My shoulders drooped as the large dose of adrenaline started to wear off.

Kamaji frowned and then looked behind him motioning for someone to come forward. My eyes moved to look at a tall long, black haired man. He bowed to me and then turned slightly to look at the other person coming forward.

My heart stopped as I saw evenly chopped blue hair and bangs. The uniform was the same, the stance was the same, _he_ was the same.

"Haku?" I breathed. The person froze and lifted his head and…

It turns out that the he was a _she._ And she had bright violet eyes instead of Haku's ever shifting hazel eyes. She narrowed these same eyes at me and turned to look meaningfully at the man.

"Ohaiyo-gozaimsu, Sen-san." The man bowed to me as I bowed back formally.

"Ohaiyo-gozaimsu." My eyes flicked between the girl and the man standing before me.

"My name is Daisuke and the lovely lady at my side." He motioned to the girl who stepped forward with a slight smile, "her name is Lady Sora of the wind clan." The girl bowed slightly, not even looking at me. She kept her gaze somewhere behind me.

A ruckus was heard from the stairs and two voices squabbled childishly. The two creatures in my room burst down the stairs, the bird man crouching down to bicker with the tiny fur ball that tried to jump up to the his height.

"…and it was you're idea to disturb her sleep!"

"Well, you were all for it until she started screaming!"

"My ears are sensitive! You got a—?"

"A-hem!" Kamaji cleared his throat causing the fight to stop abruptly. The two of them turned to stare at the old spider with a frown.

"We should introduce ourselves, shouldn't we?" the little girl spoke softly. Kamaji nodded as the girl stepped forward about to speak.

"Why should you speak first, shrimp?" The bird man grumbled. The girl turned, flashing gleaming fangs at the man.

"Because I'm stronger _and_ smarter, feather brain."

"Fur ball!" he retorted.

"Feather brain!" She shrieked, turning to stare him down. Er, up.

"SILENCE!" Kamaji's voiced boomed through the room bringing everyone to order.

"Excuse the feather brain," the girl said with a smile, "he's an idiot." The man was about to retort but the girl cut him off, "my name is Gina! It is a pleasure to meet the great Sen-san!"

A scoffing sound echoed behind me. Turning around, Sora was staring at me with hard, hateful eyes. What did I do? Really, haven't said two words to the girl and she hates me. Great, just great. Good thing I wouldn't have to see her after today.

"Have something to say?" I asked, annoyed.

"Sora-sama does not speak." Daisuke said.

"What? Why?" I asked looking at the girl who pointedly ignored me.

"Even I do not know the reason." Well, if she wanted to be a mute then that was her prerogative. The little girl, Gina, was still waiting for me to speak to her.

"It is a big pleasure to meet you." I bowed to her and she squealed running up to hug my legs. It shocked me to no end as she burrowed her tiny body around my legs.

"You're _scaring_ her again, Gina-chan." The bird man said in a sing song voice. Gina let my legs go and turned to glare at the man.

"Gina-_san_! Don't call me so informally!" she shrieked.

"Calm down, catfish," he chuckled.

"Catfish?" I asked. The girl frowned and sniffed, refusing to answer. Kamaji burst into great guffaws.

"Gina-san's parents are a neko youkai and water youkai." Kamaji explained.

"You don't have to make fun of me, Akihiko-_kun_!" She emphasized the kun part like a jab.

"Aw man! Now you ruined my introduction!" He sighed and then turned to look at my wide eyes, "Still want me to introduce myself?" His green eyes twinkled in anticipation.

"S-sure." Weird and weirder!

"Name's Akihiko, like catfish here said, I'm a fire youkai, a phoenix bird if you will." He bowed slowly to me, bending awkwardly on his backward knees.

Silence seemed to settle around us as the…creatures stare at me expectantly. Were the waiting for me to speak? Maybe they wanted an introduction? It seemed like they knew a lot about me so why would they be waiting for me to talk? I twitched nervously under the combined gazes, hoping the ground would swallow me.

"Sen-chan," Kamaji broke the silence and the tension left my body easily.

"Hai?" I asked.

"You better go change into your other clothes," he said, nodded up the stairs.

"What, those weird miko clothes?"

"Hai! I picked them out for you!" Gina chirped happily. She reminded me of a kitten and it made me chuckle when she talked.

"Okay." I said going back up the stairs.

"Be back here in a few minutes! We need to talk!" Kamaji called as I climbed the stairs. Oh great, it was never a good thing when some said 'we need to talk'.

* * *

"We're going on a what?" I asked, standing up from the table. The rest of the group looked up at my outrage.

We had been here for just a few minutes discussing this mission that I had been, unknowingly, signed up for. Gina, Akihiko, and Sora were coming with me and what were we going to do? We were going to go defeat an army and a demented, magically empowered baby with only four people; of which one didn't have any powers: yours truly.

"Calm down, Sen-chan," Gina soothed as she tugged me to sit back down on the chair. She had to reach up on her toes to grasp the knees of my trousers.

"But, we're out numbered!" I cried. Sora sniffed and looked away.

"I wish you would just _talk_!" I yelled, a small smirk crossed her face, which looked so out of place considering that Haku would never have that smirk on his face.

"Sora-sama does not believe that we are outnumbered." Daisuke said with an assured nod.

"Yeah, well I don't really trust a mute snob," Akihiko muttered. It was like he'd read my mind. Probably _literally_. I had no idea what powers they had in their arsenal. Sora turned to glare at him with eyes like hardened amethysts.

"You should treat Sora-sama with more respect!" Daisuke tutted.

"When she does the same for me, I'll be sure to return the favor," Akihiko smirked rudely at Sora while she just narrowed her eyes and picked up the tea in front of her. For a moment, it looked like she was going to throw it on him but, at the last second, she drank from it demurely.

"So," I brought them back to order, "what does this mission entail?" My clothing crinkled as my arms crossed over my chest.

"You must go to Boh's castle and infiltrate it. Then, you must make Boh take away the spell _at any cost_. After that, you're free to go," Kamaji stated simply. Oh sure, if it were that easy I would have arrived on a thriving land of the spirits and not this shadow of its former self.

"Any hazards along the way?" I asked.

"Everything and anything imaginable," Gina fiddled with her fingers, letting her hair slid forward until her face was hidden; her voice shrouded in mystery.

"I know for one that he has a flock of bird spirits at his disposal," Akihiko murmured quietly. There was something about his voice, like he was leaving something out but this wasn't the perfect time to ask.

"What else?" I asked instead of asking about the birds.

"Horrible ninja shadow youkai, poison youkai, every type of danger," Gina began to shiver as she spoke.

A soft knock sounded against the table. Five pairs of eyes turned to look at Sora who was looking back at us. Her eyes slid shut and for long moments, nothing happened.

Then the wind blew around us like a tornado. Daisuke and Kamaji didn't seem fazed. Gina squeaked and gripped the table as Akihiko ducked down to avoid being whipped up by the wind. Of course, he would know what to do considering he probably spent his time flying! I, on the other hand, wasn't so knowledgeable so my head was knocked back by the force of the wind.

A voice echoed through the wind, winding into my ears.

"_Zombies created from his disease"_ the voice hissed, _"telepathic torturers, hell demons, horrors beyond any mere mortal's imagination"_

And with that the wind died down as quick as it came. We turned to stare at Sora who was just starting to open her violet eyes

"Sora-sama uses this technique to make the wind speak for her. She is very talented, ne?" Daisuke smiled slightly at us as we gave him a withering look.

My hair was a mess! Well for that matter Gina's silver locks were tussled as well. Akihiko's hair was always wild and Kamaji's…well Kamaji's hair was like wires.

"Don't do that again," I growled staring at a superior looking Sora.

"You do not command what Sora-sama does!" Daisuke stated in outrage.

"Do me a favor, Daisuke-san," I said with a sweet voice.

"Within moderation."

"Shut up." My voice came out in a monotone. He was _really_ getting on my nerves. Daisuke's jaw clicked shut as Akihiko snorted rudely.

"Can we please get back to business?" Kamaji sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

"With pleasure!" Akihiko stated, crossing his legs as we turned back to the boiler man. I tried not to look at the way the bird-legs bent to save my stomach.

"You will have to leave in a few hours." Kamaji stood and we stood with him.

"Why so soon?" Gina whined in a tiny voice.

"Because," Daisuke interrupted, "the sooner you leave, the quicker you can get there and save more lives."

"Right," Kamaji turned to us and clapped two of his spider legs together, "we meet back in three hours."

And with that we were dismissed to idle away the time until this doomed mission.

* * *

Well, it has come to my attention that I really should explain a bit about honorifics for those that don't really know about them. In Japan, honorifics are as important as names. Each one has a different meaning depending on formality. The highest and most formal honorific is _dono_, this means something close to master or some one that you respect very much. The next is _sama_, this means lord or lady and is used for people that are owed a lot of respect and to nobility. _San_ is the next one, this is used for men and women and the translation is Mr., Mrs., or Ms. _Chan_ is the informal honorific used between friends and it can also be used for a little boy. _Kun_ is the informal version of _chan_ for guys.

Now, if some one doesn't use an honorific with another person it can mean one of two things: one, that the two people are very close as in best friends, lovers, engaged, or married; two, it could mean that one person does not respect the other person and wants to be rude. Using an informal honorific when a more respectful one is needed can be just as rude as using no honorific.

So…if any one remembers back in chapter 2, Chihiro gets ticked off when Akihiro, her ex-boyfriend that is not to be confused with Akihiko the bird man, calls her 'Chihiro' _without_ an honorific, this is because she finds it rude that he is so familiar with her when they are not "an item" any more. Look back at that part, her comment should make more sense!

Usually, most people call each other by their last names but because that would become way to confusing, I just let them all call each other by their first names. Also, I don't think spirits have last names…

Wow, long note but I just wanted to clarify some things that might be confusing. Anyways, how'd you like the chapter? I really like to hear what you think!

--Kikyo

P.S. this is my beta's favorite chapter because Akihiko is introduced!! We both love Akihiko!!

P.S.S. Swear I'll shut up after this…but I do have to remind you guys, reviews are extremely appreciated!!


	7. Walking on Water

Chapter 7: Walking on Water

**_IMPORTANT A/N!!_**: Alright, so this very exhausted author is going on a much needed vacation. Why has this prompted an important A/N? Well, I won't have internet where I'm going so I can't update! So sry to all my loyal readers!! I just wanted to tell you guys that the next update will be _around_ July 20th. Two whole weeks without Reign!! Oh the suspense!!

P.S. Still on a writing frenzy!! Finally the mission starts in this chapter and I can't wait to start writing it. This is going to be fun! Fight scenes, secret spilling, suspense, angst, and jealousy. Oooo! I just get excited thinking about it! :)

P.S.S. Thank you Staryphoenix for beta-ing my stuff!

Disclaimer: I do not own Spirited Away or its characters. Spirited Away is the property of Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli so please don't sue me, I don't get any profit from this!

* * *

The water sloshed over my bare feet, shoes stuffed into the bag at my back. It was funny to see how the water almost came up to Gina's mid thighs, soaking her hakama. Her eyes glared daggers at the truant water.

"You're a water spirit right?" I asked. She looked up at me then looked back and nodded. "So why don't you push the water away from you?"

"Sounds simple doesn't it?" she asked in an airy voice. Her eyes shifted to the sky, "It would be so easy to do just that…" Oh. I had hit a nerve, a big one or so it seemed. Those black eyes of hers went misty with some memory or other.

"Gina-san?" I called snapping her back to earth when she seemed to be planning on staying permanently on whatever world she was in.

"Hmm?" she turned to me, before starting and waving her arms in the air. "It would draw too much attention to us if I kept up a water spell for so long."

"But how will you walk?" I asked. She looked down at the water again and sighed.

"I know not," she clenched her fists into her pants.

"Can't you swim?" I asked. From my peripheral, Akihiko stood up from his statue-like stance a little ways off.

"Hai, I can but not in this form…" she trailed off and craned her head back and back and back and back to look up at me.

Suddenly a thin form appeared behind her and reached down. Akihiko picked up Gina's tiny body with ease causing her to screech like she'd been bitten. Her miniscule appendages flailed helplessly as Akihiko sat her on his shoulder. It was amazing that her entire body fit on his shoulder! Good Kami, she was tiny! Maybe she had some genetic defect or something?

"Put me down, bird-brain!"

"Sen-san is right," he said, nodding his head to me seeing as though he couldn't bow with the load on his shoulder. "You cannot walk in this water."

"I do not want your help!" she snapped. He looked up at her, those green eyes shifting from light to dark. There was a forest in his eyes for sure. The colors swayed like they were alive and left all those whose glance he bestowed hypnotized.

"Well, you _need _it_, _Catfish," he spoke as he began into the water.

"I don't need it either!" Her nostrils were flared wide.

"Please, this isn't an act of pity, Gina-san."

Just one word and she clicked her jaw shut. Her eyes still glared heatedly at him but her muscles relaxed and her fingers that had become little claws retreated until they were their normal size. There was something to this interaction. My eyes shifted from one to the other until they became a blur, not Gina or Akihiko but oddly melded, together not separate.

A snap jolted us into action. Sora had signaled us and when we turned to look towards her, we saw Kamaji and Daisuke coming towards us, the rest of the healthy inhabitants of the bathhouse waiting silently on the bridge behind them.

"Sen-chan," Kamaji bowed to me then the others, "this is for you." He held out a bundle wrapped in a soft cloth bag. Taking it from his hand, the weight surprised me.

"What is this?" My voice wavered as my fingers tugged at the knot, pulling open the convoluted twists with ease. Pushing back the cloth revealed two gleaming hilts and pulling back even more revealed twin ebony hilts etched with dragon designs and straps to hang them from my back.

"These are double swords." Kamaji explained. Akihiko peaked over my shoulder and a slosh of water from my right told me even Sora had come to look at the swords.

"Hai, I figured that one out." My fingers ran across the hilts and sheaths lovingly. "Maybe the better question would be whose are they?"

"Well," Kamaji shifted his eyes to Sora then back to me, "they're yours but they were, originally, Haku-sama's swords."

"Haku had swords?" I asked. Sora breathed in sharply and then pivoted away to look out to the horizon.

"Hai, they were given to him as a present by a river spirit that took pity on him long before you came to us," Kamaji explained.

"Why didn't he take them with him?"

"That's the thing: he left them here with instructions." Kamaji paused and again looked at Sora. She was too busy glowering at me from a distance to notice Kamaji's eyes.

"What instructions?" A knot was growing in my belly as worrying suspicions grew about Sora.

"If you came back to the Spirit Realm without him having come to get you, then you were to receive these as protection."

"This was his way to protect me?"

"And his way to remind you that he hadn't forgotten you." Kamaji smiled as Sora again huffed. Akihiko was watching the display with a smile. When he noticed me glancing up at him he waggled his eyebrows in Sora's direction causing a short giggle from Gina.

"Arigato, Kamaji-san." I bowed to him and, in a fit of longing, ran up and hugged him. It was like hugging a tree with lots and lots of branches. He stiffened at first stuttering a bit until, after a few seconds, he patted my back.

"I know you'll do your best." He pushed me a bit away to look down into my eyes. I smiled at him, my eyes starting to water.

"Thanks for believing in me," I whispered before stepping completely away and bowing to a silent Daisuke in farewell.

Akihiko stood there staring at me with a small smirk on his lips as he watched me fumble trying to put on the swords and fight a losing battle with the tears in my eyes. Did he have to stare at me like that? Damn it! It made me nervous! Did the swords even go on like this? And how was my bag supposed to go on my back too? It's not like I know how to handle them so I hope I don't need to use them. Ever. Please don't let them notice that I'm clueless!

"Do you know how to handle those swords?" Akihiko asked. Of course he'd notice. Stupid, _stupid_ bird-man.

"No." I murmured. Akihiko chuckled and came over moving things around. He pulled the bag off and pulled the swords on then placing my bag back on my back.

"Thought so. Some protection, ne?" he glanced at me with those exotic eyes, my mouth turning into a frown. "I'll teach you," he said nonchalantly as he motioned for us to follow.

"Okay, just don't rub it in!" I ceded. He laughed roughly as I turned to wave good bye to everyone. "BYE!" I yelled. A chorus of goodbyes answered me back, falling silent quickly.

We began to walk away from the bathhouse and out towards the horizon. Our steps sounded loudly against the semi-quiet of the landscape. The spirits behind us weren't cheering us on. To me, it felt like an omen of our failings.

"Sen-chan!" A voice yelled out from the silence. We halted our steps and turned towards the voice. "Sen-chan!" It was coming from the top floors of the bathhouse.

My eyes squinted to see who was screaming my name. There, way up high in the bath house, was Lin. She was gripping the railing tightly and leaning forward. An attendant was trying to get her back inside but she fought him all the way.

"Sen-chan, you can do it! Don't give up hope!" she shouted. "Some on you guys!" she turned to yell at the solemn spirits. "Cheer them on! Don't let them leave without encouragement!" Her diseased hands flailed in fists across the air.

For a few minutes, no one moved, no one spoke. The silence kept going on and on as the spirits shifted from side to side up on the bridge, unsure of what to do. It was disheartening for them to have such little faith in us. My heart dropped and even Lin's assurance didn't boost it.

"You can do it!" one small voice yelled from the crowd. A commotion ricocheted through the crowd. A small green body climbed up on the railing, hanging on precariously to the edge.

Aogaeru. My mouth pulled into a huge smile as he yelled encouragements at us. He was so small but his voice echoed through the whole area.

"Man, he's got lungs," Akihiko chuckled.

"He's a frog," Gina huffed and then paused. "Do frogs even have lungs?" she asked no one in particular, tapping her lip in concentration, "Or are they gills?"

Sora scoffed loudly and glared at her. Gina just stuck her tongue out and flipped her hair over her shoulder.

The crowd slowly grew more supportive. First only a few spirits yelled some 'go get him!' or 'good luck!' then it became chants like 'beat Boh!' and then it was an all out screaming match with 'kick his ass!' and 'beat him up!'.

"Now that's what I call support!" Gina giggled before blowing a kiss at the crowd making them go even wilder.

I was speechless. My throat was rough with emotion and my fingers trembled. This is what I needed: to be able to feel like we could win. Finally, the tears streamed down my face as my body bent into a respectful bow. My hand shook as it waved goodbye to my supporters, and my friends. Lin was yelling from her place up on the balcony. Our eyes met; teary pupils connecting. We bowed slightly to each other and then stood there for a minute before I turned away.

"You ready?" Akihiko asked.

"Hai." My voice was still hoarse.

"Let's go" and we were off.

The voices of the crowd didn't waver and we kept walking with our heads held up high. Akihiko led us with Gina on his shoulder and Sora trailing right behind him. I was farther behind, feeling oddly exhausted already even with the cheers at my back.

"You alright, Sen-chan? It's okay if I call you Sen-chan right?" Gina asked in a quick breath. I looked up at her and nodded.

"Sure," I cracked at her. She beamed back at me and turned to look forward.

"Why can't _I_ call you Gina-chan?" Akihiko whined. Gina whacked him hard on the head making him flinch in pain. This was going to become predictable, I just knew it.

"Because you haven't earned the privilege!" she snapped. He frowned at her and then looked at me.

"What did you do to earn it, huh?" he muttered.

"Dunno," I said turning to peek at Sora. She kept glancing from side to side and her hand was permanently attached to some weapon on her belt. It didn't look like a sword, too short but it wasn't a knife, too long.

"Hey, Akihiko-san!" I said as something popped into my mind.

"Akihiko-kun, if you don't mind," he said with a smile. I blinked and nodded.

"Why not chan?" Gina pouted her lips.

"Chan is for girls or haven't you heard?" he frowned at her.

"It's for little boys too! Oh, I got it! Your name should be Aki-chan!" She clapped her hands at his horrified face.

"_No_!" he yelled. Gina was too busy laughing to notice his growl. Her whole body shook in mirth causing me to chuckle and even Sora to break out into a demure smile.

"It's hysterical!" she guffawed loudly, holding her belly.

"You were saying something before the catfish opened her mouth to speak?" Akihiko asked me, ignoring Gina.

"Hey!" she exclaimed.

"_Yes_, Sen-chan?" he asked again.

"Well, do you have any sort of weapon?" My eyes scanned his form. He had tighter fitting hakama then the loose ones that I had on and a kimono like top without sleeves. On top of that he had on a haori that was left open and fell to below his knees, just barely brushing the top of the water. A huge bag was slung over the shoulder that wasn't carrying Gina. Maybe he had his weapon in there?

"Hai," he pulled back his haori and on his right hip, a little behind the actual hip bone was a long sword that reached his knee. "I just keep it hidden so the enemy doesn't see."

"Oh, that's a good idea." I reached back and fingered the visible hilts of my swords.

"Wish I could carry a sword," Gina mumbled. Akihiko turned to look at her before turning and looking towards the horizon to hide his smile.

"Remind me to give you one of my knives," he mused out loud.

"I don't need your charity," Gina snapped immediately. That was predictable too, just like the slapping.

"It's not _charity_, it's for the protection of the group." Akihiko said. A snap came from our left and we turned to look at Sora hiding her hands into the billowing sleeves of her outfit. She nodded at Akihiko.

"You agree with what I said?" he asked. Again, she nodded. "So, you're going to talk to us through nods and snaps?" Sora smiled for the first time, flashing us a true look at her fangs. It was amazing how her face transformed from the constipated mask into a beautiful painting with just a smile.

"Don't forget the smiles," I added. Sora looked back at me and her smile fell to be replaced with that constipated face she got when I spoke.

"And the faces," Gina giggled, "you need to go to the bathroom?" She laughed at Sora's outraged face. A laugh burst from within me. Oh boy! Gina and I were going to have a ball baiting Sora!

"We think alike!" I laughed as Gina giggled and nodded. Sora breathed deeply from her nostrils and looked away towards the bright midday sky. It looked like she was counting in her head.

"You're going to have to lighten up, Sora-san," Akihiko said with a smile. Sora just narrowed her eyes and humphed.

"Suit yourself." And with that we kept on walking away from the safety of the bathhouse toward the unknown, the cheers of the spirits fading into the background.

* * *

So, did you like it? I'd like to know so please do tell!

Okay! So my characters kept bugging to be able to talk to the readers directly and after much debating I have decided to give them a chance. If they go nuts then I'll just cut them off…

Chihiro: Hi everyone! I'm Chihiro! Nice to meet you.

Akihiko: Hey! I'm Akihiko: the most important character in the story.

Gina: You are not!

Akihiko: I am too! I'm a phoenix for Kami's sake! 'Sides I'm dedicated to Kikyo's beta grins so I get more points.

Gina: (bonking Akihiko on the head) I get more points for being cute!

Chihiro: Guys…Kikyo is threatening to shut us up if you don't stop bickering…

Akihiko: You cute? Come on! You're a catfish! It's like something out of attack Frankestein.

Gina: (to chihiro) is that an insult?

Chihiro: (sighing) yeah .

Gina: (to Akihiko) You're a dead man, bird-man! (Running at him with her claws)

Sora: (Snaps fingers twice)

Akihiko: (side stepping Gina and keeping her away with his hand against her forehead) Oh! Yeah, I'm her designated translator so…hmmm…oh! She's saying, "I hate you guys so go away!"

Sora: (smiles and nods, snaps again)

Akihiko: That means that she loves me so much she wants to marry me. Aw, that's so sweet Sora-chan (a huge grin breaking out over his face.)

Sora: (shakes head violently and snaps again)

Akihiko: No what she really said was that she has constipation issues.

Sora: (does her wind trick) _Get lost you jerk!_ (seeing that everyone is blown away) _Until next time dear readers!_

This is why I can't let them loose outside of my brain…

--Kikyo


	8. Storytelling

Chapter 8: Storytelling

A/N: Hi again everyone!! I had originally said that I wouldn't update 'til the twentieth but I got to a place where I could use the Internet soooo I decided to give you all a surprise! Have fun reading!

P.S. Thanks again to my beta Strayphoenix!

Disclaimer: I don't own Spirited Away or any of its characters nor do I make a profit from writing this fanfic. Spirited Away belongs to Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli.

* * *

"Land!" Gina squealed, darting off Akihiko's shoulder and onto the rocky landing that used to be a stop for the train. It was gone now, destroyed by Boh's minions, another memory lost.

"For a catfish, you sure like solid ground," Akihiko clucked as he climbed onto the dry earth, ruffling and shaking his feathers until all the water had fled his body and landed on us.

"Akihiko-kun!" I yelled, wiping water from my already drenched clothes. Sora huffed and shook out her hair patting it this way and that before sitting down seiza style at the edge of the landing.

"My pardons, ladies," he smirked at me as Gina wrung her hair dry.

"'Pardons' my butt!" Gina muttered. I cracked a smile and rubbed her head affectionately.

"I'm sure he didn't mean it." The swords and the bag were getting heavy and a huge relief enveloped my muscles as they dropped to the floor.

"Of course not!" Akihiko's face was a picture of honesty. Gina frowned at him and turned to scrounge through her bag.

"Guess she didn't believe you," I told him, my mouth cracked into a smile as Gina ignored us.

"Tried my hardest," he sighed dropping his bag behind him and undoing the sword hanging hidden beneath his clothes.

We fell silent, letting the water lull us into a sedative trance. The stars winked down on us like eyes ever watching our progress. My stomach grumbled just as Gina tossed me some type of spirit fruit and a piece of bread. Was this all we had? Just perfect.

"What I would do for some steak now…marshmallows would be good too." My thoughts escaped me as I watched the sky.

"What are marshmallows?" Gina asked, keeping her food away from Akihiko's snatching hands.

"Aw, come on!" Akihiko whined as he was foiled again.

"Shouldn't he get some food too?" Poor bird man, he was going to starve if Gina had her way.

"No," she huffed biting into her bread and munching heartily, "not until he asks nicely!"

Akihiko frowned, narrowing his eyes before passing a hand over his face. When his hand moved away, everything had changed. Gone was the humor replaced by an extremely intense expression.

"Gina," he whispered, moving closer to her. Gina's eyes were wide and her sparkly skin translucent. Her grip on his food loosened slightly as he inched in closer.

"H-hmm?" she murmured, looking away from his forest eyes and towards the ocean.

"Please give me my food," he whispered as his face crept closer and closer to her own. My eyes were wide watching the display, knowing what he was doing but too frozen to do anything.

"Umm…s-sure?" she breathed.

Akihiko snatched his portion out of her hand and jumped back. He smirked at her then gobbled down his food in an instant. The spell was broken and the thunderstorm that was Gina erupted.

"You—_you_!" she sputtered in indignation as my lips pressed together.

"You were going to say something about marshmallows?" Akihiko asked calmly.

"ARGH!" Gina yelled, sitting down and facing away from us. My eyes fixed on her form before turning back to a smug Akihiko.

"You shouldn't have done that," I chided.

"Done what?" he retorted. This was no use, he wouldn't say he was sorry and Gina was too stubborn to forgive him.

"Okay…" my fingers kneaded the bridge of my nose trying to calm the twitch that rippled through my muscles every few seconds. "Marshmallows…are this cottony sort of sweet food that you eat at night around a fire with your friends"

"Why would you want to sit around a fire with your friends and eat marshmallows? Don't you usually sleep around a fire?" Akihiko's eyebrows drew together in confusion and even Gina turned slightly to hear my explanation.Now how was I going to describe something they had never seen? They wouldn't know what a campfire was. Oh brother, this was going to be a pain.

"You gather around a fire and tell stories too. It's for fun," I added. They still looked confused.

"Tell stories about what?" Gina chirped in.

"Anything"

"Sounds lame," Akihiko huffed leaning back on his elbows and straightening his legs.

"It isn't!" I responded, indignation at his brush-off filling my veins. "The stories are usually scary stories or stories about your life…they can be anything"

"I don't believe it's _that_ exciting," Gina contributed, giving Akihiko a withering look, "though I hate to agree with the bird brain" Akihiko rolled his eyes and turned to me.

"If _you're _convinced they're so great, tell us one of these great stories," he waved his hand.

Me? Tell them a story? All the stories I knew were about spirits. They wouldn't be impressed with my storytelling skills at all and then they'd rub it in forever! Aw come on, Chihiro, think of _something_!

"What do you want to hear about?" They stayed silent for a minute thinking before looking at each other for another few seconds. Finally their eyes landed on me.

"Tell us about you," Gina smiled and scurried over to sit next to me.

"About me? But my life is boring" Which was sadly true. There was no adventure in my life only the one when I was spirited away but they had heard that story. It was practically in their history books.

"So make it interesting," Akihiko said as he lay down, resting his head fully on his bag, and motioned for me to start.

'Interesting,' eh? Well, it was worth a shot even if it did explode in my face. How to start or where to start?

My mouth turned into a frown as my thoughts raced through memories upon memories searching for a starting point. Everything turned up a blank and blanker. Maybe there was no starting point because...

My heart clenched as my thoughts led me to something painful, something dark.

_There was no starting point because my life had never started._

My eyes stung in harmony with my hurt heart. There was no story just…monotony to my life. Wake up, go to school, come back, do homework, sleep. Oh. Of course, I forgot, and dream of Haku every waking moment.

That might be my story…

"Sen-chan?" Gina asked softly from my side.

"There once was a girl," my voice sounded like it was speaking through water, "who dreamed of finding her prince everyday that she was alive. She had found her prince in a land of spirits and magic. He had been her savior, her soul, but the girl had to go back to her home and he…he promised to come for her". My throat was closing and as my story began to gush from my lips, trying to be heard before it was constricted back inside of me.

"She went back home, home to parents who were to involved with themselves to notice the little girl that had been affected by a dream journey to a land they did not remember. It took the girl two months to recall the journey in its entirety. She ran from her house to the place where she had entered the land of magic but there was no entrance there anymore, only a statue who laughed at her failure"Akihiko and Gina began to blur into a painting of colors and in that painting, forgotten images flashed and disappeared.

"The little girl returned home to her parents and brother, vowing to find her prince. She felt him in the water. Every day she almost drowned herself in her pool just to feel his skin around her. She felt him in the forest. Every time she could, she would sleep on her balcony to feel the trees, to be near to her prince. She felt him in the pencil that scratched against the paper. Every day she drew him on paper, never quite succeeding in capturing him" A strange emotion rose within me like a snake or a dragon.

"For eight years she waited. The girl developed the shadow of a life. She received good grades in her school and passed all her classes with flying marks. The girl had many friends who loved the shadow that she showed. A boy fell in love with her and for a while she glamoured him in her eyes, trying to make him seem like her prince but failing. For eight years she pined for a prince that did not appear. For eight years she questioned…"

A damn broke and the echo sounded through my ears. My legs snapped up and I roared like a wounded animal.

"_Why, Haku_?!" My throat tore at the force of my yell, "I waited until I could wait no more! You promised! You _promised_ yet here I am and you're _not_!" My knees gave out and in a jumbled heap I fell to the floor in agony.

"Sen-chan…" Gina said in a voice full of concern as she came over and placed her hand on my shoulder.

My body felt boneless like it was floating through the endless ocean that surrounded us. There was no light in this sorrow and nothing to bring me out of the aching misery. My cells cried, my mind mourned, everything shook. It came to the point where there were no more tears to cry and only silent shivers racked my body.

The pain went deep, beyond the soul. It was physical and it was emotional. To me, Haku had died and I was still mourning his death. But the thought of him being truly dead made me cry harder. Not even Akihiko wrapping me up in his warm, feathered and rail-thin arms comforted me. He hummed under his breath and rocked me. My fingers wrapped around pieces of his shirt and clung. It was like my body had transformed into that of an octopus youkai, sticking to everything with suction force.

Fingers touched my cheeks, pulling and tugging me forward. An impressionistic painting met my eyes. There was a vague form with blue hair kneeling before me and as the distorting tears were blinked away an image of a silent wind youkai formed before me.

Sora held my face prisoner between her cool, elegant palms. Her eyes searched my face intently, not letting a single crevice pass by her warrior eyes. In my state, I didn't even think to question what I was doing. My mind was separated from my body by a void. And even though it called for my hands to push her away, my limbs refused to obey.

Her fingers brushed at my tears causing my eyes to widen infinitesimally. She stared at the fluid motions of her fingers as if entranced by their dance.

_Brush, brush, brush_.

Soon there were no more tears for her to brush away and she pulled away. It seemed as if she had placed a spell over me to keep my mind lulled into hypnosis because as she pulled away my senses came back to me, rushing forward all at once.

"W-why d-did you d-do that?" my voice wavered, a wraith of its old self.

She did not answer, as usual. Instead, Sora sat down again on her perch at the edge of the landing, facing away from us and in the direction of our mission. I waited for her to answer, hoping against hope that she would speak just once.

My hope was in vain.

"She's not going to say anything," Akihiko finally sighed, lifting me from his lap and into his arms before standing. His steps played a gentle staccato against the ground as he stopped before my assigned bed roll and place me on it.

My body curled in on itself, trying to ease the ache that seemed to envelop my abdomen.

"Sleep," Gina whispered as she scurried to my side and slid her hand through my hair, massaging my scalp, "it heals all things"

"Not this. _Believe_ me, I've tried." A paper-thin smile spread across my lips. A wince passed over her wide eyes making a greater pang of guilt flow through me. I was making her suffer, damn it! More sorrow to add to my already over flowing pile.

"No more storytelling for tonight," she switched the subject wisely. "I…I will stay by you until you fall asleep"

"Don't know how much good a catfish will do in protecting you," Akihiko murmured, putting on a smile.

We smiled wanly back at him. Laughing was out of the question right now and it seemed that it was hard even for Gina. She just sighed and kept on petting my hair, ignoring Akihiko's jab.

"Sleep," she purred, concentrating on my drooping eyelids.

"I…fear it," I slurred as fatigue inebriated my brain.

"What? Sleep?" Gina seemed to be fading away, going farther and farther away from me as darkness overtook me.

"Haku lives there…" I trailed off, finally succumbing exhaustion, physical and emotional.

* * *

Yay another chapter!! YES! Go me! Go me! Go me!

This was a particularly hard chapter to write…really hard actually…because of the angst and the pain. I go through a lot of pain when my characters go through pain so…yeah, you can imagine.

Now, my characters want to talk so, without further ado…

Akihiko: I think I might kill Haku.

Gina: Why would you do that?!

Akihiko: (looking around for said water dragon) He hurt Sen-chan! (catching a glimpse of blue hair) AHA!

Gina: Wait Akihiko! That's—"

(From a distance there is a shriek and then a long silence. Akihiko comes running out, hightailing it off to god knows where.)

Gina: Uh-oh…

(A furious Sora with a huge bump on her head stares murderously after Akihiko before chasing him down screaming at the top of her lungs)

Gina: Stupid bird-man, got what he deserved! (She huffed.) Anyways, Sen-chan was going to talk but she's still crying…(sighs) poor thing…

(From distance a distinctive male yell is heard).

Gina: Looks like bird-man got caught (she grins and bows) I better go make sure Sora doesn't go killing him…without me! Until next time! Hey Sora! Wait for me! (She skips off towards the yells for mercy.)

(Sighs) With lunatics like this controlling my brain, does anyone question why I'm insane half the time? ( LOL) Anyways, keep reading and keep reviewing while I try to keep my characters from destroying each other!

Oh yeah! P.S. just to clarify, Gina is about 3' 4" tall. I made a mistake in chapter 6 saying she was four feet tall. Whoops! My beta caught it while rereading my stuff. Thanky you stray, yet again.

--Kikyo


	9. Dueling Dragons

Chapter 9: Dueling Dragons

A/N: So I'm still hooked on the story! I'd like to take this opportunity to thank all the people who reviewed and even those that put me on a Story alert, an Author alert, a favorite stories list, etc.

P.S. My beta is amazing, the best one in the world! This absolutely amazing beta would be Strayphoenix and I would like to thank her very much for fine tuning my stories and making sure that my characters play nice with each other!

P.S.S. If anyone is proficient in art, I would really like it if someone would draw me some pictures of Akihiko, Sora, Gina, and Chihiro. It would really make my day! It's just a request if anyone feels so inclined! Thanks!

P.S.S.S Wow too many P.S. but i do want to say that i have a poll up on my profile page about who's your favorite Reign of the Elements character so go check it out! (Little reminder! Don't confused Akihiro with Akihiko!!)

Disclaimer: I don't own Spirited Away or any of the characters in this movie. Spirited Away is the property of Studio Ghibli and Hayao Miyazaki. I don't make any money from this fic so please don't sue! The only thing I own are the characters I made up like Gina, Akihiko, Sora, Ryu, Daisuke, Yuki, etc.

* * *

"'Water, water everywhere and not a drop to drink,'" I muttered as the ocean sloshed against our feet in the same rhythm that we had established since we set out this morning. The sun was too hot on our skin and no amount of perspiration was going to cool us off.

"Where is that from, Sen-chan?" Gina sighed, her hand moving rapidly in front of her face trying to cool herself. All that fur couldn't have been helping.

"A poet…I believe." My voice was hoarse and strained from lack of water and from exertion.

"Hmm," she answered, not having the energy to answer me.

"Smart man," Akihiko intoned, shrugging the shoulder where Gina sat. She shifted around, kneading the muscles in his soar limb before settling back against him.

"Hey, Sora-san!" Akihiko called to the girl who walked a ways in front of us. Her movements did not stop but her head did shift to the right, waiting for Akihiko to continue.

"What do you think of this poet?"

Her mouth turned into a frown. Of course, she'd find a way to make fun of us, Miss High-and-Mighty that she was. All we were trying to do was stave off the insanity that was drawing upon us from the monotony of the journey but _nooo_, she had to go and make us feel lowly for doing so. Party pooper.

Her shoulders lifted in a shrug and then settled down again.

"Amazing," sarcasm oozed from my voice, "she deemed us with an answer." Akihiko chuckled but Sora ignored me, choosing the 'higher road'. More like she refused to associate with the likes of me.

"Tell me more about your world," Gina murmured against Akihiko, seeming not to notice that her fingers were entangled in his hair and the scarlet feathers that stuck out from it. He didn't seem to mind but it did seem like an awfully familiar gesture coming from her.

"Hmm…" What to tell her about? Let's see... "you ever seen a car?" She glanced behind me and shook her head no.

"Same here," Akihiko chipped in.

"You haven't been to the real world at all have you?" It was impossible to go to any place on the globe and _not_ see a car. They were like cockroaches: everywhere there could be life, there were cars.

"No," they answered in unison. Their eyes met before a frown crossed over Gina's face. Akihiko chuckled and glanced back at me.

"There has been no reason for me to go; my business has always been in the land of the sprits"

"My family…was here." Gina halted for a second, her answer coming across stilted. Again, that feeling that there was something missing and again, the warning that it wasn't the right time to ask her about what she meant.

"Well, do you want me to tell you about the cars?" It was time to turn the conversation away from the family topic. Everyone was having problems with that word in specific.

"Sure," Gina nodded at me. Akihiko opted to perform a manly grunt in response. What a guy. Gina bonked him on the head for good measure.

"Hey!" he yelled.

"Don't grunt at ladies!" she snipped.

"What ladies?" Gina almost burst a vein as her head whipped around so she could stare him in the eye while growling savagely.

"Oh no," I muttered, pinching the bridge of my nose, knowing that a huge argument was about to ensue. This heat was definitely not helping with the temper issues these two seemed to have when they were too close to each other.

"_I'm_ a lady you dimwit!" Gina shrieked, pulling at his ear.

"You are not a lady! Owww!" He snatched at his ear, trying to free it from her rasping claws, "ladies don't attack gentlemen!"

"That's certainly true but I don't _see_ any gentlemen around here!" she yelled straight into his ear, making him sway and howl in pain.

"My ears are _sensitive_, you bitchy catfish!"

"My _feelings_ are sensitive you chauvinistic bird!" she cuffed him in the ear again. Said ear was turning a serious shade of angry red and it didn't look like the abuse of the innocent ear was going to stop anytime soon. "You hurt my feelings!"

"What feelings?" Akihiko yowled again as his ear was slapped.

A huge wind whipped around us, knocking me to the floor. Akihiko braced himself and Gina clung to him forcefully. The water surged around us, frothing like a rabid dog and howling like a wolf. Sora stood untouched by the water or wind, staring at us with flashing purple eyes.

"_This Sora will _not_ accept any childish behavior!"_ The wind screamed at us, hurting our inner ear until I swore I would never hear again.

"_Sorry_!" we yelled in unison. The wind did not stop for a second and it seemed that Sora would keep up the huge maelstrom. Just as it became unbearable, the winds died a quick death, the water surging back to where it had been moments before. In just a few seconds, everything had returned to normal. Sora stood straight before us and then pivoted around with a huff to lead the way again.

"I knew she'd speak with the 'this Sora' attitude!" Gina giggled, shaking some stray water droplets out of her hair Akihiko readjusted her, not even bothering to shake out the refreshing water from his body.

"Of all the things to say after that, you decide to comment on how Sora talks?!" My eyes were wide, staring at the amused doll-like creature as I got up and patted my own wet kimono somewhat dry.

"Well, yeah, it's funny!"

"I can tell you one thing that isn't funny," Akihiko said, interrupting Gina's giggle fest as we trudged on through the water.

"What?" Gina asked.

"We interrupted Sen-chan when she was going to tell us about cars"

Akihiko glanced at me. Gina slapped her hands over her mouth, her eyes going from mirthful to shocked in a second, turning to look at me apologetically

"Sorry," she murmured, truly repentant.

"It's okay!" I waved my hands in the air, my heart braking at the sight of such a small creature feeling guilty. "I can talk about cars now if you like…"

Gina stared up at me and nodded, still feeling bad about interrupting me.

"Really, it's okay." I patted her back as she peaked up at me again.

"Really?" she asked. Gina was a work on contrasts. One second, she'd act all cool and independent in front of Akihiko and the next second, she'd be all proper and demure to me. Even if I lived to be as old as a river spirit, I'd never understand how Gina thought.

"Really," I answered.

And so we began the long discussion about cars that took up the next hours of our journey.

* * *

"But I don't get it!" Gina whined, her face scrunched together as we continued to walk toward the horizon, trying to get as far as possible before the sun set in a few hours.

"What don't you get?" I asked.

"Why do humans need cars so much? They pollute the environment!" Her voice was indignant and shocked as she tried to wrap her mind around the necessity of something that was so toxic.

"We don't really have any other way to get around." We had run around this topic at lease ten times and Gina could still not accept that humans would 'destroy' their environment.

"That is no excuse," Akihiko chimed in playing devil's advocate. Kiss up! Did he have to go and wind Gina up even further.

"You shut up," I muttered as he chuckled.

"But he's right…for once." Gina added the last part as an after thought.

"Thanks for your approval, shrimp." He glanced up at her as she patted her fingers on his head.

"Any time, feather brain!"

"No arguments, _please_!" My head just couldn't take any more bickering from those two! All day they either spoke about cars or snipped at each other. I swear, if it wasn't because I _knew_ they hated each other, I'd say their fights were caused by sexual tension! "I'd rather keep talking about cars than hear you two yip at each other!"

"_I _do _not _yip!" Gina huffed, folding her thin arms across her chest.

"And _neither_ do _I_!" Akihiko nodded.

Sora-san sighed loudly in front of us causing the indignant duo to snap their eyes towards the innocent looking wind youkai. She just kept walking like nothing was the matter.

"Sora, you got—" Akihiko started but stopped himself when Sora abruptly froze mid-step.

"Sora-san?" I called as she glanced back at us her eyes flashing a hundred different emotions.

And just like that, she sat down in the water. Her clothes were soaked instantly as she sat _seiza_ style in the water as if it were dry ground. Those violet eyes of hers drew shut as her arms crossed across her chest. She didn't move again.

It looked like she was asleep…or dead.

"Sora-san?" I called again as we stepped towards her cautiously. Akihiko walked around her slowly, surveying everything about her. She didn't even twitch when my hand slapped against her cheek roughly, trying to wake her up. Sora was like a living statue, breathing but utterly immobile.

"Suppose she died?" Gina pondered, "I call her weapons!"

"Gina-chan," she lowered her eyes at my clipped tone as I pushed to my feet. "She isn't dead. She's still breathing"

"Hmm—" Akihiko rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

My knees knocked together as the ground suddenly groaned beneath our feet. The earth seemed to tilt this way and that before settling back down again. The water rioted against our legs pushing us frantically in one direction or the other as small waves crashed against us.

"What in the hell?" Akihiko growled, twisting this way and that as he pulled out his hidden sword. Gina jumped down into the water with a splash, whipping out the knife Akihiko had given her yesterday. She glanced down at it then sighed.

"Some how, this just isn't threatening." It would've been funny if the quake hadn't growled through the ocean again.

"Sora-san!" Akihiko cried as the wind youkai stayed motionless.

"Kuso!" I yelled, grabbing her shoulders and shaking. It didn't work and my frustration just kept on building until my body trembled with fury.

The ground was vibrating constantly now and the water was a mass of waves as tall as me or taller. Gina held onto Akihiko for dear life as the bird braced himself against the waves.

"Can't even fly, I'm so soaked!" Akihiko yelled against the infernal noise.

"What do we do?" Another wave crashed down on top of me, pushing me towards the edge of the slightly submerged railway tracks.

"Gather around Sora-san!" he yelled, already trudging towards the immobile girl. The waves beat at him causing him to totter left and right as he fought against the water.

Every time I tried to stand I was just flung back to my knees again. Crawling was the only way for me to get anywhere. My hands gripped the sand underneath as my knees scratched against the ocean floor and train tracks, already bleeding into the salty water.

A wave came out of nowhere and scooped me up. Some one cried out my name as my fingers were dislodged from the sand. Then, there was nothing but water. The ground was gone and my body kept sinking as my hands and feet kept flailing, looking for the ground. No such luck. The air was knocked out of me and my lungs blazed in their desire for air.

_Death_.

My eyes snapped open to see the flickering water around me.

_This was my death._

My eyes shut.

Something stirred around me, a ripple of arms or scales caressing my skin. Hair touched my body and something hard…like a stone or a horn pressed into the palms of my hands. It wrapped around me curling into me until my arms were around it.

This was familiar, like a dream long forgotten.

Somewhere in my sluggish psyche it occurred that this…_thing_ was moving me. My body was rising closer to the light, whether it was heaven or the surface I didn't know. Did it matter really? Sleep sounded so much better than going to heaven. I had someone to look forward to in sleep.

My body wouldn't move, my limbs hungry for oxygen. Hearing was gone and my sight was following quickly. What would be next? My brain or my heart? Which came first the chicken or the egg? This seemed incredibly hysterical to me and if my vocal chords had been working, I would have laughed.

But mercifully, the water broke and my body was flung up in a ripple of motion. My legs and arms thrashed in the air like rags as my back slammed against the ground.

Water gushed out of my throat as my eyes snapped open. Someone was turning me around and water was gushing out from me.

_Air, air, air_!

My lungs sucked in air even before the last of the water had left my mouth. _Blessed, sweet air!_ Oh, thank kami! It was so delicious to breathe!

"Sen-chan!" Gina cried.

"W-what?" my voice was like sand paper.

"Get up!" Her hands tugged at me until, grudgingly, I was standing.

"Aw, damn." Akihiko cursed as the water seemed to still for a second before something burst straight out from the depths.

It was as silver as liquid mercury with the shape of a dragon. The monster had beady coal eyes and limbs tipped with black talons.

"Is it…?" I trailed off, my mind still not working to its capacity.

"It's made out of water, the one thing I can't burn!" Akihiko spat, twirling his sword until he was crouched in a ready stance. My unsteady stomach seemed to reel at the sight of his backward legs.

"_The one named Sen is here?"_ it spoke and looked directly at me, a smile twisting across its muzzle, _"the master will be pleased to see you!"_

"The hell he will! _Fire storm!_" Akihiko shouted as he swung his blade up, fire flowing along the metal and swung it in an arch, dozens of arches of fire bursting from the blade.

They hit the dragon straight on and went out like…well like water on a campfire. Akihiko cursed again and glared at the cackling dragon, preparing for another fire attack.

"_No little phoenix, it is my turn now!"_ He reared and dove at us, a tidal wave in crescendo behind him.

"_Kuso_!" Akihiko flashed until he stood before us, my hands grasping his spread arms in terror, "brace yourselves!"

The dragon and the wave swept towards us faster and faster. It was going to hit us and there was no way to survive this, no way at all. My eyes snapped shut as Akihiko tensed, bracing himself.

"_Mizuneko!"_ The cry reverberated through the air and then…the water shuddered around us. My eyes snapped open and kept on widening in sheer disbelief.

There, right in front of us, was a huge water dragon that towered over even the enormous dragon that had attacked us. This one was a blackened blue with gray eyes.

"_The little brat is a water youkai?!"_ The first dragon asked in disbelief. Akihiko and I turned to look at Gina simultaneously. Power crackled around her as she held her arms extended, wrists joined and palms open. Her eyes were the same color as the dragon and pupiless.

"Don't call me a brat!" her voice echoed through the dragon as it snapped at the much smaller water dragon. _"Blades of water!"_ The dragon yelled, opening its mouth wide and letting forth shimmering daggers that sliced at the silver dragon.

"_My master will know of this!"_ he yelled as its body was hacked to pieces, its screams becoming fainter and fainter until altogether dying out.

Gina still stood motionless as the dragon disappeared, the waters slowly stilling, going from raging to murmuring to silent. The ocean returned to normal as if the fight had not even happened. The blue dragon tilted its head back to stare at the girl.

She sighed and pulled her hands apart, the dragon pulling apart with the motion. It sprinkled back into the ocean and was gone in an instant.

All the while, Akihiko and I were busy gawking at Gina as she powered down, her eyes returning to their normal black. She turned to stare at us with a big smile, picking up the knife she had dropped in the water.

"Pretty neat huh?" she laughed, sounding a bit winded.

We still couldn't speak.

"Guys?" Gina scrunched her eyebrows, her eyes goings from amused to concerned as we just stared at her.

"You're…" Akihiko trailed off but his voice had clicked me into awareness.

"Amazing!" I finished tottering to where she was, falling to my knees. Her eyes looked wearily at me as she smiled looking back at the wide eyed Akihiko.

"Guess I'm a pretty mighty catfish, ne?"

And with that Gina's eyes rolled back into her sockets and she fell into my arms, dead asleep.

* * *

A/N: So, I should probably say some things about the significance of each of my characters' name. Their names are special and related to who they are so…here goes!

The names of Chihiro's friends aren't as thought out as the names of her group members but I'll put their significance here anyways:

Yuki- snow

Tetsumi- (I don't have the meaning but if anyone can find it, I'd really appreciate it if you could tell me!)

Ryuunosuke- (dunno the translation either, it has something to do with a dragon…)

Akihiro- bright scholar

Kichiro- good luck son

Maki- true record/ tree

Now for the names with meanings!

Ryuu- dragon (I'd tell you why his name has a meaning but then I'd have to kill you! JK JK!)

Sora- wind (well she is a wind youkai…oops, the _queen_ of the wind youkai excuse me!)

Akihiko- bright prince (he is a prince and in military strategy he is really bright. Also, he gets annoyed when Gina cuts his name off at 'Aki' because he wants to be acknowledge as a prince, which is what 'hiko' means.)

Gina- silvery (named after her skin of course!)

Daisuke- helper (He's Sora's helper in all things!)

Alright, so that's it! No talking from the characters 'cause they're kinda exhausted from the fight and Sora is still…meditating? Sleeping? She's doing whatever she's doing.

Reviews are appreciated!

--Kikyo


	10. The Village

Chapter 10: The Village

A/N: Thanks so much to all my reviewers! You guys rock!! Keep on reading and you might just find Haku. Hmm, I wonder where that water spirit is?

P.S. Thanks again to my super, amazing, perfect, grammatically correct, nice, witty, and all around great beta Strayphoenix!

Disclaimer: I don't own Spirited Away or any of its characters, only the characters I have created. Spirited Away belongs to Studio Ghibli and Hayao Miyazaki so please don't sue 'cause I don't get any profit from this fanfic!!

* * *

"It looks like something out of a scary movie," I said, my mouth spread into a huge 'O' as another yawn stretched through my body, shaking my very bones until they knocked together.

"What is a scary movie?" Akihiko asked. Of course, he wouldn't know what that was and again I'd have to explain another human nick-nack was.

"I explained what a movie was a little while ago!" My voice came out whiny and nagging. Akihiko glanced behind me, careful to not wake the sleeping Gina on his shoulder.

"Yeah, I know _that,_" he rolled his eyes, "but what is a _scary_ movie? Is it different from just a plain old movie?" He couldn't figure it out by himself. Nooo, I had to explain it to him.

"It's a movie where there is a lot of suspense and scary things pop up at you." That was about the easiest explanation and right now I was too exhausted to get into any more details.

"Oh," he replied, pausing for a second and looked around, "so why does this remind you of a scary movie?"

My eyes scanned the endless ocean now obscured by a thick veil of fog. It had been there this morning after I woke up from a sleep that rivaled that of death. The visibility had been close to zero at sunrise when we started trekking again and even hours after the sun had risen, the fog still held everything in its clammy hands.

"Most scary movies had a lot of fog to make the setting more ambiguous."

"So…fog is ambiguous?" Akihiko asked distractedly, already losing interest in the boring topic.

"I guess…" He wasn't the only one losing interest: my wandering mind was following close behind.

Sora kept walking straight along the water covered railway tracks, not even slowing because of the fog. It could be that she saw through the thick clouds or maybe there was something driving her forward. It was impossible to tell since she just wouldn't talk and no amount of cajoling was going to break her resolve. Her figure was blurry against the foggy back drop and only her footsteps could really denote her direction correctly.

The sleepy bundle on Akihiko's shoulder shifted this way and that, burrowing unknowingly deeper into the birdman's shoulder. Gina gripped Akihiko's haori tight between her fingers as she mumbled something that sounded like 'flying tuna' before settling down again. My eyebrows furrowed as I watched Akihiko pat Gina on her back. She had outright refused to wake up this morning when we had set out, whining and wailing that she was exhausted. We'd pull her into a sitting position only to have her fall back asleep instantly. Finally, Akihiko just picked her up and settled her on his shoulder, letting her sleep. Why would she be this tired? It could have been the fight yesterday but was that so tiring that she had to sleep more than twenty four hours? It didn't make sense!

Fog, fog, and more fog surrounded us. It was the uncomfortable type of fog, sticky and tightening. Whispers of thoughts tickled my brain bringing unbidden, dark thoughts to the forefront of my conscience.

The dragon might have warned his master about us. Who would be his master if not Boh and if so, had he sent this fog to confuse us, to send us into a trap we wouldn't see coming?

No! We had killed that dragon. There was no way he could have reported back to Boh. Period, end of story.

This consolation kept the darker thoughts at bay but they were still there in the corners of my mind, waiting for me to become distracted enough to start whispering doubts to destroy my foundation.

And the force from yesterday that had saved me when I was as sure as dead? The scaly dragon that had saved me…had that been the same dragon that had attacked us or had it been—dear kami, it hurt to think about him!—Haku? Nothing seemed to make sense, not even my own ponderings.

Akihiko stopped right in front of me without any warning and wham! I hit my nose flat on his back.

"Sorry," I muttered at Akihiko whose eyes twinkled with humor. He nodded and looked down into the fog.

"Do you see something?" I asked. Akihiko nodded as Sora turned to see why we weren't following her anymore.

"What?" Gina asked.

"I don't know but I'm going to find out." He motioned for Sora to come over here. She looked curiously as him as did I. What was he up to? "Hold this." He held Gina out for Sora to grab.

The look on both their faces was priceless.

"_Nani_?!" They yelled in unison.

"It's only for a second." He pushed Gina into the shocked wind youkai's arms and shrugged out of his haori, handing it to me.

"I _can_ stand!" Gina cried as Akihiko shook out his bare arms, a line of feathers rustling along the bottom of them.

"You'll drown, catfish." He smirked and with that, huge wings unfurled. His flight was easy, perfected after decades of practice. My mouth was hanging open as he soared away into the mist.

That left the three of us in silence.

Gina and Sora were busy having a staring contest. She was growling softly and Sora was making that constipated look again. I, on the other hand, was trying to not laugh at them.

"I hate you." Gina stated.

Sora nodded, her eyes returning the sentiments. A small giggle escaped me and they turned their glares at me. I dropped my eyes, biting my lip so hard that I almost drew blood.

"A village." Akihiko said. I jumped not even noticing when he landed. He stretched out his arm towards me, feathers and all, smiling at my startled expression. Stupid, ninja bird man! I handed back his haori with a humph.

"Can I have the catfish back?" He stretched out his hands. Sora practically threw Gina into his arms.

"You do that again and I'll hurt you." She threatened. Akihiko just laughed and set her back on his shoulder.

"The village," I prompted trying to get the conversation back, "does it seem hostile?" I asked.

Akhiko shook his head negative.

"Well then, let's go!" Gina added, still miffed about the Sora incident. Akihiko nodded and we started towards this village.

* * *

It was a tiny place with huts dotting here and there. Every hut had a small patch of land behind it with plants growing healthily from the soil. The villagers eyed us warily as we trudged towards the village center, looking for anything that might pass for an inn of sorts.

A Bed, food, _hot_ food, hospitality, comfort…just the sheer thought had me salivating. And judging by the brisk pace Akihiko and Sora had set, they were as excited as me. Billowing fog pushed away from us as we half ran, half walked towards the center of the village.

"Lively place ain't it?" Akihiko drawled as we all took turns scanning the small square in the center of the village. An edifice that looked like a tavern stood to the left and a store opposite it. Right next to us was what could pass as a town hall if it wasn't for the fact that it looked like no one had touched it since it was built…three centuries ago.

"That looks like an inn," I pointed out, staring at the little two story house in front of the town hall.

"Come on!" Akihiko called as he strode over to the place, leaving me and Sora behind. She reacted faster and sauntered up to Akihiko as I scurried to keep up.

The house was small, maybe just two or three rooms wide and long. The wooden steps creaked under our feet as we climbed onto the porch. Sora and I had to stay some steps behind him for fear of being hit by his odd-bending knees. Akihiko knocked on the wooden door, the sound echoing hollowly through the house. A few voices called back and forth, muffled by the wood.

"Yes?"

Crinkled green eyes stared up as the door creaked open.

"Ohaiyo Gozaimasu," Akihiko bowed to the old lady, Sora and I followed suit.

"Ohaiyo Gozaimasu, may I help you?" The old lady looked at all of us, her eyes kept on stopping on the stirring Gina.

"Yes, do you have two rooms to spare for a couple of weary travelers?" Akihiko smiled suavely, his green eyes twinkling.

"I might just have some rooms for such a handsome man and his friends," the lady giggled at Akihiko's wink.

"And food?" Gina spoke for the first time today, rubbing her eyes sleepily. My gaze snapped to her. She finally woke up! Yes! About time, I was starting to get worried something might have been really wrong with her.

"Yes, and food," the elderly lady said as she gazed kindly at Gina, "please come in!" She hustled us into a slightly full dining room. Spirits of all shapes and sizes glanced at us and did a double take as we took a table by the end of the room. "I'll get you the house special!" the old lady chirped, bustling away as we waited for what surprise she might bring.

"You're hungry, catfish?" Akihiko asked as he set Gina down beside him, her arms immediately becoming a pillow for her head.

"Starving," she sighed.

"When you mentioned it, it reminded me that I was famished too," I nodded, watching Gina's eyes threaten to shut again.

Sora huffed and looked around the inn with a look that was akin to disdain. Of course she's hate this place. Imagine the Queen of the Wind Youkai associating with _commoners_. Heaven forbid! My eyes seemed to always want to roll when Sora was around. Translation: almost every moment of the last few days.

The door burst open with a thunderous bang.

A blur of gray and red flashed as a lithe body stumbled to a stop before the old lady that had come out of the kitchen holding our food.

"Granny!" He bowed to her quick, his curly red hair flying into his eyes, "my mother would like to know if you could spare some towels and bread?" The boy took in a big breath as the old lady stared at him with huge eyes. She dithered back and forth for a second before coming to a decision. Her head bobbed once almost against her will as she scurried back into the kitchen.

The boy stood there, shoulder's shaking with each panting breath. _I_ could hear his breath from how quiet it had grown. Everyone stared at the boy with a range of expressions from pity to rage.

"Hey you!" called out one burly man whose eyes dripped disgust. The boy twisted his head and gulped as the big man stood, his buddies following suit.

"Hai, master Kawara?"

"Get out of here, half-breed!" the man growled; his cronies muttered similar curses. Gina's head snapped up as she whirled around in her chair to stare at the boy.

"I…" he swallowed loudly as the men surrounded him, "I need those supplies." His voice cracked pathetically as the men snickered at him.

"All you need is some rope and a tree to finish what should have been done to you at birth!" One of the crude bullies guffawed as his friends joined in laughing at the reddening boy.

"Why you—!" he muttered, raising a fist. One of the men grabbed his wrist and yanked back jerkily. The boy yelped and fell to his knees as his arm was twisted painfully. The old lady picked this time to come out with the towels and bread. She pressed her lips together and looked with pity at the writhing boy though she stayed motionless.

"You dare raise your fist at us, you rabid _dog_?" the first man shouted as he kicked the boy in the stomach which causing an agonized wail to echo from the boy.

No one moved to help him. They watched with calm eyes as the boy was kicked, punched, and pushed repeatedly until he didn't no up from down. His gray blue eyes were rolling around wildly as his quickly bruising legs shook to hold him up. My hands gripped the table even more tightly as I stood on a precipice not knowing whether to do nothing or rush to his rescue.

My decision was made for me, however, when a tiny body suddenly flashed between the boy and the bullies, holding the old lady's towels and bread. Her eyes blazed like the burning sun as the men halted their beating, confused at where the girl had come from.

A vivid image superimposed itself over the reality. A tiny girl standing tall and proud among a group of envious, sniveling, conniving peers as she stared everyone down—erm, _up_—even as they beat her into the ground.

"My name is Gina and I am a neko youkai and a water youkai." You could have heard a pin drop in that room as the men stared at yet another halfbreed, "try to move and you won't have anything to pee out of." Her eyes flashed true, she meant her threat and they knew it. Those same deadly eyes shifted to the trembling old lady. "Thanks for the supplies." The old lady nodded slightly, clutching her heart. Gina turned her eyes to the boy who looked at her with eyes that were quickly turning into adoring orbs of light. "We're taking you home," she stated as she stretched out her free arm, waiting for him to take it.

"Th-thanks," he stammered as she helped him stand and hobble towards the door. She glanced back at us, her message clear.

"Guess we're not eating right now," Akihiko muttered as we stood and hustled out the door, Sora trailing behind us as we left an inn full of dropped jawed villagers in our dust.

* * *

"You didn't have to save me!" the boy muttered for the tenth time as he led us, grudgingly, to his house at the outskirts of the village. Gina rolled her eyes again as she sat on Akihiko's shoulder. A small vein pulsed just above her eye as she seethed.

"And again my answer is the same!" she growled, "I didn't _have_ to but I _wanted _to!"

The boy glanced back at us again with those reptilian eyes that were hostile enough to start a nuclear war. He grew silent and kept trudging along. Sora huffed loudly as if to comment on his rudeness as she walked just a bit behind him and in front of me. The silence was growing steadily more awkward as the distance to this supposed house grew more and more lengthy.

"What's your name?" My voice fell like a rock on the silence and for a moment it didn't alleviate any of the awkwardness between the five of us.

"Tatsuo," the boy finally spoke slowly, "my mother's a wolf youkai; my father, a dragon"

He spat the last part, his face scrunching in distaste.

"I didn't ask about your lineage," I replied a little hotly. He shoulders were pulled taut as he walked, his aura emanating tension.

"You didn't but you were probably wondering considering how fucked up I look"

He tossed his head back, meeting my eyes with his. "Fiery red hair and cool, predatory blue eyes, not to mention the fur on my arms and the tail on my back." The said tail untied from his waist like a snake. Akihiko jumped back at the sight of the appendage and even Sora seemed a bit surprised by its appearance.

"I thought it was a belt," Gina murmured.

"That's what I try to make it seem," he replied. The very barest edges of his lips upturned slightly as he curled his tail around again and kept walking towards a house that had just appeared in the distance. "There's no way to hide my half blood."

The silence enveloped us again as the house grew closer. The boy's eyes were glazed over and his steps were monotonous. Those eyes were scary, not because of their reptilian nature but because of how _old_ they were. His _soul_ was old. What had he seen to make him age so fast inside? Was it really so bad to be a half-breed in this world? I guess it was worse than I thought if Gina and Tatsuo were any examples of what half-breeds went through.

As we drew nearer the house the front door swung open and a woman came out waving her hands at us.

"Tatsuo!" she yelled, causing the boy to start, "hurry it up!"

The boy stepped up the pace and we sprinted to keep up as the woman came into focus. She was a tall lady with curves and muscles and she patted her hands against the dirty apron she wore to protect her discreet kimono underneath.

"Mother," Tatsuo said, the woman snapped her eyes to her son and then to us. Her eyes were the same blue gray as Tatsuo. "I've brought you some guests that were kicked out of Granny Masaki's inn"

"Why were they kicked out?" she asked suggestively. It seemed she was as distrustful as her son. Her eyes showed some trepidation, especially as she stared at Akihiko and Sora.

"The little one stepped into save me. Turns out she's a half-breed as well"

The woman's eyebrows shot up as she ogled Gina who smiled back very nonchalant.

"My mother was a water youkai and my dad was a neko"

The woman looked Gina over again and again, her unease lifting from her eyes with each passing glance. Finally, a sigh took over her and she nodded.

"You seem pleasant enough," she announced as she pushed open the door and beckoned us in.

We stepped through only to find ourselves in a hospital ward of sorts. Spirits were in beds everywhere, groaning in pain or lying still as if dead. Nausea rose in my throat slowly as memories of the bath house swirled around my mind. The similarity was sickening, from the packed room to the smell of death that threatened to upturn my empty stomach.

"I'm sorry about the smell," the lady sighed as she looked around at the suffering victims, "if your appetite is not completely gone, I can offer you some food"

"We'll pay you back," Akihiko added without hesitation, looking the woman dead in the eyes. Tatsuo's mother, her eyes as blue grey as her son's, stared at the phoenix bird with a stone expression on her face. Their eyes held for a long while as the rest of us glanced between them not knowing what exactly was happening behind those two pairs of eyes.

The woman was the first to glance away, nodding slightly. She looked at Tatsuo before her eyes darted back at us, motioning for us to follow her. I stepped forward, eager to get away from the bodies that exuded death like exhaled air.

Spirits were crowded into every crevice of the small room. It must have been a living room before, maybe filled with tasteful furniture and lots of light. The windows were shut now with heavy curtain, the light not welcomed into the place of suffering.

Akihiko came to a sudden stop, causing a startled gasp to escape Gina. He turned, looking around the room. Wonder what was wrong with him?

"Akihiko-kun?" I voiced to get his attention. He glanced at me and then kept scanning the room before his eyes stopped on the figure of a girl bent over a hospital bed.

My shock trembled through my body as the girl brushed back her blue-green hair, revealing herself to be Sora.

"Sora-san?" My voice was soaked in incredulity.

She seemed to be in a world of her own. Her entire face was contorted into one fierce emotion, more emotion than I had ever seen in her ever. Those eyes of hers were wide and her flawless skin pale as ice. Fingers trembled as she reached over to brush the hair of one of the diseased spirits.

"Who is she?" Gina mumbled.

"The sick spirit?" Tatsuo's mother asked. She'd appeared beside us when we had disappeared from beside her and continued, "She is a wind youkai that worked for Boh. Turns out the back stabber doesn't mind infecting his own soldiers. Found the poor dear on the side of the road…" She shook her head from side to side.

Sora didn't even hear her as she kept brushing the hair of the spirit. The girl on the bed could not have been older than Sora. Her hair must have glistened strawberry blonde in the sun when she was healthy. Now the girl's hair was lank and dirty, looking more like dead straw. An image of a laughing girl with blonde hair running through a billowing field of green grass flashed in my mind.

"Sora-san," Akihiko called.

The wind youkai snapped away from the sick girl and turned to us, her eyes glistening. The raw pain in her face was still evident as she stared at us, pleading with her eyes for something. My heart squeezed convulsively as our eyes met over the distance.

For the umpteenth time I wished she would just _talk_ to us.

The moment passed and with a flip of her hair her blank expression returned. The moment of vulnerability was stuffed back into the dungeon she kept all her emotions in. Without even another glance towards the dying child on the bed, she strode to where we stood. She flicked her eyes to the woman and motioned with her head to continue.

"I'm guessing we can go to the kitchen now?" The older woman's eyes wouldn't leave Sora as the wind youkai focused her eyes on the floor.

"Yeah," Akihiko spoke to the woman but kept his eyes on Sora. The woman pivoted to lead us into the kitchen.

* * *

Stupid birdman just _had_ to insist on repaying the woman for the food she gave us. Idiotic, air-headed, overly honorable, _stupid_ bird with feathers for brains! I _hate_ washing clothes so of course what had the woman made me do? Wash linens along with Sora and Gina. The only consolation was that higher-than-thou Sora had a disgusted look on her face that rivaled mine. Guess she didn't like washing either. Gina, on the other hand, had no problem scrubbing clothes and getting down and dirty with the murky wash water.

"Come on, Sen-chan!" she laughed as I swatted at another drop of dirty water that threatened to land on my nose, "I thought you did this work in the bathhouse!"

"Yeah," I muttered, "eight years ago and I was never good at it…"

She giggled again and took out another pile of clothes to be dried. Of course catfish had to be good at washing! Dang it! She'd finished three batches of clothes to my one and Sora's half.

Tatsuo's mother came in to over see our progress, smiling slightly at my frown.

"The phoenix _did_ insist." She smiled at my muttered growl about wringing said fire bird's neck.

"Don't mind her!" Gina chirped, fighting off the stains on a white sheet like a pro, "she's just sulky about having to do work!"

"Aren't we all?" Tatsuo's mother laughed and knelt down to help us.

"Oh, speaking of work," Gina added, "where are Akihiko-kun and Tatsuo-san?"

"Well, I told Akihiko to fix a leak on the roof and Tatsuo went into town to buy more bandages. He should be back any minute," she explained, smiling at us as she kept working.

"The water is too dirty," I whined, looking down at my filthy hands in disgust. Gina laughed as Tatsuo's mother tried hard not to chuckle.

"I'll throw it out," the latter said as she got up and tossed the water away from us, towards the woods.

"It's a good thing it didn't decide to rain tonight or we wouldn't have been able to do the laundry," she smiled and walked a ways away to the small pump that provided her water.

"We could've done the laundry inside…" It was too _hot_ out here!

"The house is dirty enough as is, I don't want filthy laundry water to add to the mess." The woman set the bucket back down and we dove back to work.

We were washing for a while when we heard a commotion from up in front. Tatsuo's mother lifted her head as her eyebrows drew together. A riot of voices rose from the quiet of the woods. Her face went deathly pale in a matter of seconds as she swallowed and scrambled to stand.

"Oh no," she breathed as she ran around the house, the rest of us following at her heels, "oh no no no no!"

We burst onto the front lawn to find a group of men, smiling like they owned the Spirit Realm. My eyes scanned them, my body tensing as I saw them swaggering around and hiccupping. They stared at the woman like she was meat. Tatsuo's mother didn't even flinch as they undressed her with their vile eyes.

"Brought you a present, whore!" the burliest of the men said with a rude smile. He motioned for his men to toss forward a few bodies. The woman glanced at them and then at the group, her nostrils flaring.

"Is this how you treat your sick?"

"They're gonna die anyways," the man huffed, nudging at the bodies with his feet causing one of the victims to cry out in agony.

My legs twitched without my knowledge. Gina tugged on my hand and pushed me behind her to keep me from moving. I stared at her incredulously as she eyed the men with furious feline eyes.

"Anything else?" the woman growled.

"Yeah, just one more thing"

The man smiled as another body flew through the air and landed at the woman's feet. She glanced down and froze.

My eyes slithered down at the beaten, broken body that laid motionless at the woman's feet. The hands were upturned as if pleading for mercy and the legs bent at hideous angles. Cuts marred the beautiful scaled flesh and blended in with the fiery hair of the boy.

"Tatsuo!" his mother cried, her emotionless demeanor falling away as she turned her baby boy over and cradled his head against her chest.

The men cackled and stepped towards her, circling around her like vultures eyeing a kill. They were going to hurt her and we were going to _watch_?! Dammit! Why wouldn't Gina let me move? The tension of wanting to spring to her defense was agonizing.

But how was I going to help her? What weapon would I use if I didn't know how wield any of them? The frustration added only more pain.

"You birthed this abomination to a dragon that left you as soon as it started poking it's way out of your stomach!" one man spat crudely. "You should've killed the bastard!"

"Or maybe we should've killed you for whoring yourself to a breed that wasn't your own," the leader continued as he took out a sharpened knife, "but before we do, why don't you show us the tricks you did to lead that two timer into your bed?"

The wolf woman growled like a wild animal, her eyes going almost silver. She clutched her son even closer as she bore her sharp teeth to the men.

"I didn't trick that dragon into my bed!" she snapped. "We loved each other and he left because he had a duty to fight against Boh!"

"Likely story!" one of the men called out.

The men brushed off the story and drew in closer. The wolf youkai's eyes flashed with fear as she knew, without doubt, that this would be her end.

Sora started twirling her hand around, calling wind to her finger tips. Gina raised her hand and waved Sora's wind away. What was up with the catfish?! Didn't she see that the woman was going to die?!

"The half-breed is worthless as are you, you miserable slut!" The man went to plunge the knife into the woman as the wolf youkai stared at the man defiant even on her last breath.

My body was frozen as the knife went down in slow motion. This wasn't happening! Why wasn't anyone doing anything to save her?! No. Why wasn't I trying to save her! Dammit! Damn my inability to do _anything_!

Something snapped.

"_ENOUGH!_" a voice that caused the my soul to shake, echoed through the forest.

And just like that Gina exploded in light, her eyes flashing like fire.

The dragon that had appeared in our fight with the evil water youkai sprung from the ground, condensing from water molecules in the air and roared to life with a howl of rage. Three smaller dragons appeared beside it, enclosing the now cowering men. Those stupid, lily-livered men who only spouted strength when they were surrounded by weak people were now getting what coming to them.

"How dare you insult this woman who is helping your village without even a complaint!" Gina roared, swinging the dragons around making them swipe at the men who howled in fear.

"Mercy!" some cried in panic.

"Never!" Gina cried. "_Death Waves_!" she yelled as the dragons swirled together sweeping up all the assailants and tossing them in the air and encompassing them in water.

They writhed under the water as the air failed them. The men clawed at the wave that held them without reprieve. Gina laughed as they kept on twitching and screaming in silent agony. Her eyes were gleeful as she watched their suffering.

"Gina!" Akihiko yelled from the top of the roof. The water youkai turned to look at Akihiko with crazed eyes. "Let them go! They learned their lesson!"

"They'll _never_ learn their lesson!" she shouted back, the water squeezing together tighter and causing even more of the men to howl in pain and beat at their cage, "these are the naïve bastards that cause so much suffering! They _deserve_ to die!"

"Maybe so," Akihiko replied, "but you don't deserve to have their death weight on your shoulders!"

He jumped down from the roof easily and ran over to her, his knees bent under him so he was almost sitting down in front of her. "Please _koishi_," he murmured, brushing her hair away from her face and staring at her with his mesmerizing eyes, "don't do this to yourself"

_Koishi_? Why was Akihiko calling Gina that? His beloved? They hated each other! Either that or they were extremely good actors. Did they love each other? It's possible I mean, I still loved Haku even after so many years of not seeing him.

_Haku_. I'd call him my beloved when I saw him next. A stupid blush crept embarrassingly up my neck and onto my cheek as I watched their interactions from the sidelines.

The catfish stared at Akihiko for a long moment before whimpering and waving her hands. The water let loose and fell to the ground, rushing away towards the village and dragging the howling men with it.

Tatsuo's mother watched us with wide, pitying eyes. She clutched her son to her as he stared at Gina with half open eyes. He glanced back at where the men had been swept away and smiled.

In his eyes, Gina would always be his hero.

"Gina-chan?" Akihiko whispered. I looked back at them only to see Gina staring towards the village. Her bottom lip trembled as tiny spasms coursed through her body.

"They hate people like me!" she spat. "They _were_ the ones that killed my parents. People like them made my life miserable!" Gina probably didn't even realize she was talking aloud.

Akihiko framed her face with his long fingers, holding her gaze with his fiery eyes. Her eyes were brimming with tears she didn't want to shed in front of us.

"I get it, Gina," he murmured.

"No you don't!" she shot back, shaking her head back and forth to push away his hands, "no one who is a pure breed understands!" Akihiko reframed her face and stared into her eyes and her body grew even tauter. Her pain was apparent even to me and my heart twisted as I watched her tremble in fury and sorrow. Sora breathed in shakily, her eyes distant, seeing some where else or some _one _else other than the scene before us. For some reason, I just _knew_ it was Haku that caught her mind.

"I know what it's like to want to destroy the people that hurt you, that hurt your family. That desire runs in my veins as strongly as it does in yours but I _will not_ let you feel the agony of knowing that you killed. _That,_ Gina, rests on your soul forever," he told her as he stared at her fiercely, a strange emotion over taking his eyes.

"But—" she murmured as a single tear escaped her eyes. Akihiko let it roll down her cheek before wiping it away.

"Cry," he told her, "tears do a good job of washing away pain"

It was like a dam breaking and letting loose all it's water. The tiniest body in the world buckled under the weight as a mourning yowl echoed through the land. My heart broke just a little more as Akihiko wrapped the suffering little catfish in his arms, not even noticing the tears that were streaming down my face or the tears that threatened to spill from his own eyes.

* * *

A/N: Umm, did anyone else think this chapter was super long? Cause I think this might be my longest chapter ever! Wow, 13 pages. Sheesh and talk about angsty! I thought I was done with the angst! Damn my characters and the fact that they control my brain!

So they want to talk again and I agreed to give them a bit of space!

Gina—You know, I wonder why Kikyo-chan writes us?

Akihiko—Cause she loves us! Duh!

Gina—No one loves you bird-brain! (bonks him on the head)

Akihiko—Except stray :D

Chihiro—(Ignoring Akihiko) Probably cause you guys won't let her _not_ write us!

Gina—(giggles) Remember the time we made her write when she should've been doing her job?

Akihiko—(laughing hysterically) Yeah! She almost killed us when she didn't finish her work!

Chihiro—Uh, guys! (staring at the author's fuming face!) I don't think that's a good thing to remind her about!

Gina—Yeah probably not a good thing to bring up (she smiles and waves at me)

Akihiko—So if we're so annoying why does she even post us up on ?

Chihiro—I don't really know.

Gina—That's easy! (She said clapping) Cause of the reviews! Kikyo-chan says she's addicted to reviews! (Turns to the readers) Review please or _Mizuneko_ might just be making a surprised visit to your house!

Chihiro—Gina! Stop threatening the readers!

Gina—Aw! They don't mind! Well until next time!

Akihiko—Next time we'll talk about why everyone likes me more than Gina!

Gina—Hey! That is not true!! (Running after a sprinting Akihiko. Chihiro sighs and runs after the bickering pair)

Sora—(slaps her forehead)

Oh man, I had to shut them off! They get too excited when I let them talk to you guys! It's like giving too much coca cola to a little kid. Big disaster!

Anyways, reviews are appreciated!

--Kikyo


	11. Dreaming with a Broken Heart

Chapter 11: Dreaming with a Broken Heart

A/N: Okay you guys, yes I'm back and please don't kill me! I'm sorry that it took so long to update but life has been a pain in the ass for the last couple of months. Just to show you guys that I DO NOT mean to leave this story, I'm posting two chapters back to back so please, enjoy!

P.S. Thanks to Strayphoenix; part beta, part cheerleader, part best friend!

P.S.S. Updates are going to be a bit sporadic from now on but hopefully not as bad this last one! 

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters from Spirited Away nor do I make any profit from this fanfic. Spirited Away belongs to Studio Ghibli and Hayao Miyazaki.

Also, I don't own the John Mayer song name "Dreaming with a Broken heart" I'm just borrowing the name! Please don't sue!

* * *

We had camped down for the night on a dry train station stop a few miles away from the village. The silence had yet to be broken since this morning when we left a grateful wolf youkai and her healing son behind to keep going on the mission.

Gina had climbed onto Akihiko's shoulder that morning and had fallen asleep there without a word. Akihiko had jut held her there and had led the way away from the village and towards the train tracks. We didn't even look back as we left and the spirits kept away from us as we left the place. They were probably happy to see the powerful strangers disappear back into the mist of the early morning.

All day we had walked through the water, following the semi-covered train tracks, not really wanting to talk. Sora, of course, never spoke but it was strange not to hear Akihiko and Gina bickering. It made the walk seem even longer.

We'd settled in for the night early since we were still tired from the work and the fight last night. The sky was still shades of blue and not the violets of twilight which was when we usually started looking for a place to stop.

Akihiko pulled out some of the food that Tatsuo's mother had given us to keep us going until we reached another settlement. He passed the bread and a bit of cheese as well as some odd, grape looking spirit food. Gina had decided to wake up by now and was eating with us in silence. A small fire blazed in the center of our small circle, courtesy of Akihiko.

Our dinner lasted less than fifteen minutes and then we were left to stare at the fire like it was a TV with static running across the screen The silence had grown so thick during the day that it seemed impossible to cut. It weighed down on us, full of questions and answers we didn't want to hear.

Gina cleared her throat, the sound startling all of us out of our reveries.

"You've told your story already around the fire, Sen-chan, I think it's my turn," she said quietly as she glanced at my shocked face.

"You don't have to…" Akihiko murmured.

"But I want to," she countered, focusing her eyes on me and taking a deep breath as if preparing to fight.

"My mother was an aristocratic water youkai. I remember her having the same white hair as me and being more beautiful than the sun. She always smiled like the world was a paradise and she was joyful to live in it. My father was a soldier and second in command to the pride leader of the largest group of neko youkai. He had the same black eyes as mine. My father loved to laugh and play around with me…"

She drew in a breath, "He…he would always tell me I was the best thing that ever happened to him. He would dance with my mother under the moonlit sky saying that it was a celebration of the night I was born under a full moon"

Gina paused, passing a hand over her face. She began again with an unsteady breath.

"My parents were in love. They—They were soul mates but their families and their people did not see that. All they saw was a cat getting married to a fish. They did get married but they lost their positions, their lives, their families. To get away from the ridicule, they moved to an isolated beach away from both of their people. I was born two years later"

"You grew up alone?" I breathed. Gina smiled at me and nodded, stopping her story and picking it up again fluidly.

"As a child all I knew was love and perfection. My parents loved each other, they loved me and I loved them. They gave me everything that I ever wanted. It didn't occur to me to question why we lived alone because I didn't think a world existed beyond us three"

She paused again and breathed out loudly.

"Until I was eight, they taught me everything they knew and kept me away from people. To my father's annoyance, I turned out to have a much bigger affinity for my mother's element than I did with his element"

"You have some fire in you?" Akihiko asked, scooting closer to her. Gina looked up at him and nodded.

"Very little, I _used _to be able to draw out a flame but not anymore." She bit her lip and stared at the ground intently. Suddenly as if coming back to reality, she shook her head and looked back at us.

Even Sora seemed to be interested now. She had scooted closer to us and away from her usual corner as Gina told her story.

"One day, though, they had to take me to the nearest village to buy some supplies. I was so excited the whole way there because my parents had told me that they'd enrolled me into a martial arts school and that we would visit the school that day. Imagine my surprise when I arrived at the village and everyone stared at me like I was a life size virus. Everyone stayed away from me and some even went to the extent to yell obscenities at me and my family. My mother and father ignored them but inside I was crying like a baby as each person stared at me with more and more disgust"

Gina's hand had started trembling and she couldn't look at our eyes anymore as she watched the ground with angry eyes.

"I begged my parents not to enroll me in the school because I just _knew_ that the kids would hate me there. They wouldn't hear it and I was left at the school a week later. Just like I thought, the kids hated me and did everything to make my life miserable. Only the head sensei believed in me and just for him I trained my tail off. He pushed me to try harder and to show everyone that I could be just as good as them"

"Oh Gina," I whispered, not reaching out to her because I knew she would see that as pity and hate me for it.

"The things they did to me are still etched into my brain. They'd beat me as the other teachers watched with snickering eyes and as I grew up the boys would push me around, not caring that I would protest. The girls would steal my stuff and put poisonous stuff in my food"

Gina looked up at me and snickered a bit.

"It was amazing on graduation day when I graduated top of my class and I watched all the bastards and their parents staring at me as I performed the royal katas perfectly in goodbye. They never messed with me after that but they never liked me either. It wasn't long after that my parents fell sick. I had taken up a position as a healer because I'd shown some skill for that in school. My father was the first to fall."

She trailed off and this time there was no way to hold off the tears. Akihiko picked her up and cuddled her against his chest, murmuring softly in her ear as she trembled. I scooted forwards and sat there, my hands useless as I watched my friend suffer.

"No amount of pleading brought any medics to my house and without any medical attention, my father died two months after contracting the vile disease," Gina whimpered and clutched Akihiko closer to her.

"My father, my daddy," she sobbed, "he was so perfect and so full of life! He said he wouldn't let such a stupid disease kill him and yet he died!"

A vision of Yubaba dying filled my mind. Had Gina been there when he died? Had she seen the horror of the death? Oh God! Tell me she had been spared that nightmare!

In my mind, a man with eyes like Gina's died convulsing and screaming in agony as his little girl watched in horror. My eyes over flowed with tears and I couldn't help the whimper that escaped my throat.

"My mother seemed to deflate with my dad's death. He'd been her light and everything that kept her going after her people shunned her. She let herself go and began to sleep all day and sit up crying all night. The beautiful woman she had been died with my dad so it was no surprise when she started to get sick too"

My hands trembled as I reached out and placed unsure fingers on her head. Gina looked up at me with pain filled eyes. She was in hell and there was no way for me to get her out of the pit she had dug herself in.

"Again I pleaded for a medic to come help her but they all refused, saying that they wouldn't help the woman that had spawned a 'useless half-breed'. My mama, two people that had ever loved me, died the same as my dad"

Gina shook apart for the second time in two days. She screamed at the sky, tearing at her hair.

The little thing cried until it seemed her tears would form another ocean and still the tears kept coming. Akihiko rocked her back and forth looking up at me, his jaw clenched and, for once, he was clueless as to what he should say.

My brain was turned off so I'm not sure how it came to me but, suddenly, I knew what to say to the best friend I had wished for since I was little.

"_We_ love you Gina," I murmured, brushing her hair and remembering that this hair carried the memory of the mother who had loved her unconditionally. Gina looked up at me and I couldn't stop the tears. "You're not alone Gina, I promise you're not alone"

Gina trembled all the more and grasped my hand between hers. Akihiko rested his head on top of hers and she rubbed up into his chin.

"I love you too, _koishi_," he whispered. "You're not alone as long as we're around. Especially as long as _I'm_ around"

Akihiko's words landed like a silent explosion. My eyes widened as I stared at the two of them.

Oh, of course.

I guess I'd been too preoccupied to see it before. He loved her. But maybe that wasn't exactly right either. It was more like they were connected beyond anything that could be described in words.

The little white haired youkai looked up at Akihiko and stared at him with unbelieving eyes.

"I'm not going anywhere," he murmured, "not as long as you need me"

"I've heard _that_ before," she muttered, frowning.

"Seriously, Gina. I mean it. And I'll do anything to keep my promise"

He looked at her intensely, meaning every word that his eyes were confirming.

"I'll be there whenever you need me, too" I promised, knowing that my promise didn't count as much as Akihiko's but she needed as much support as she could get.

Wind whirled around us and almost instinctively we turned to look at the wind youkai who was seated beside us. She stared between us, frowning, before letting her gaze land on Gina. Almost hesitantly, she bowed to Gina.

"You…promise the same thing?" Akihiko asked incredulously as Sora sat up. The queen of the wind youkai nodded once and kept her eyes on a shocked Gina.

Tears streamed out of her eyes again as she stared at each of us, saving Akihiko for last. She smiled up at him. His eyes widened and he smiled back at her. A small smile crossed my face. He was totally hooked. With only one smile, Gina had just beaten Akihiko into submission.

* * *

A/N: Angst! Not again! Oh who am I kidding? I love angst! Anyways, reviews are appreciated. My characters won't talk today 'cause they're exhausted and are sleeping from all the emotional water works. Until next time!

~~Kikyo


	12. The Boy with BlueGreen Hair

Chapter 12: The Boy with Blue-Green Hair

A/N: I'm on chapter twelve! Whoo boy! And the story just keeps on getting longer! Keep reading and reviewing! Thanks to my reviewers, you guys are amazing!

P.S. Thanks you again for the twelfth time for editing my stuff Strayphoenix!

P.S.S. Hmm, the chapter title is interesting, ne? (Grins mischievously)

Disclaimer: I don't own Spirited Away or any of its characters. Spirited Away is the property of Studio Ghibli and Hayao Miyazaki. Also, I don't make a profit from this fanfic so please don't sue!

* * *

Of course, it had to start raining. Of all things, though, it had to _rain_? If nature _really _wanted it to rain then why couldn't it at least rain fire so all this…this…damned water would evaporate?! I'm sick and tired of water, especially ocean water! _Argh_!!!!!

"If your face twists anymore, it'll stay like that permanently!" a sing song voice broke through the angry red haze fogging my eyesight.

Gina grinned at me as the frown across my face grew more pronounced. She giggled and bounced around on Akihiko's shoulder to scan the rocking waters. Of course Gina would like the rain, it was her element. Meanwhile my very bones felt filled with water. Anymore and I'd grow gills!

"Hey!" Akihiko called, snapping my attention towards the front of our rag tag group. Sora had stopped dead in the water, her eyes scanning the blurring surroundings. Could she see anything through these sticky clouds? She _was_ a youkai…

A small prick of envy blossomed within me. Wish I had super seeing powers, then maybe Haku might not think of me as the burden I was.

"Hey, Sora!" Akihiko called. Said youkai glanced back at Akihiko in acknowledgement. "You see something?"

She nodded as Akihiko scrunched his eyebrows in concentration, trying to see through the mist.

"I see something too!" he shouted, surprised. "Know what it is?"

She stood there motionless and blinked slowly, waiting. A small muscle just above my eyelid started twitching as more water dripped down from my soaked hair.

"Can't you just _tell_ us what it is?" I called. A small smile curled over her lips as she shook her head in the negative ever so _slowly_. My patience was drawing very, very thin.

"Is it…an enemy?" Gina asked quickly, eyeing me as my face started changing into a tomato. Sora shook her head no.

"How about…some travelers?" Akihiko retorted before the furious scream echoed out of my throat. Sora, again, shook her head no.

"Oh!" Gina cried just as I started walking towards the stupid wind witch with all intents on twisting her pretty little neck into a pretzel. Damn, I was getting more violent by the second! "Oh! I know! Is it a village?"

Sora grinned and nodded vigorously looking at me with that 'I'm-the-shit' face she wore almost constantly.

The angry burn in my vein cried for revenge, for something to wipe that grin off her face. My muscles were tense and twitching with frustration. It was either revenge or start crying and the latter was not a plausible choice.

"Last one to say 'not me' has to pay for dinner!" I called back to Akihiko and Gina, looking Sora in the eye.

"Not me!" Gina cried.

"Not me!" Akihiko joined just after her.

I stepped up into her face and smiled. "Not me," I added and walked passed as Sora stood fuming, not even given the time to call up her little wind trick.

A strange sense of power surged through me causing me to lift my chin into the air as I walked passed the stunned youkai, leaving Akihiko and Gina nearly peeing in their pants with laughter.

* * *

Just as Sora had said, there was a village on a dry patch by the train tracks. This one was quite a bit bigger than Tatsuo's village. Spirits were moving from here to there and back, bustling and talking like a bunch of bees.

We were invisible to the village spirits or so it seemed. Even Akihiko with his backward bending legs didn't attract the type of attention that would be common in the real world. Gina looked around the place curiously as all sorts of different youkai passed us by. Huge beings with many arms and legs waltzed by us as graceful as ballerinas. Chattering mice scampered between my feet as I almost yelped in surprise. Two beautiful, orange skin youkai smiled suggestively at Akihiko with their slanted purple eyes and jewel encrusted skin.

"Would you like to come with us, _monsieur oiseau_?" one said, flashing a forked tongue and perfectly sharp white teeth.

"Appreciate the offer, ladies, but I'm entertained enough as is," Akihiko said as he bowed to the youkai who had spoken, the second one busy eyeing us critically.

"Let's go, Mayame," the second sniffed, "he seems to have enough girls to please him already." And with that, they flounced off leaving the 'girls' to stare at them with dropped jaws.

"You say anything else, bird boy, and I'll make _sure_ you'll never be able to 'entertain' anymore ladies ever again!" Gina threatened with narrowed eyes.

That did it. We started laughing uncontrollably, with the exception of the insulted Sora. My sides hurt and tears streamed down my face in a matter of minutes. We couldn't even get a hold of ourselves for awhile and were reduced to giggling puddles no matter how hard we tried to quiet down.

Sora stamped her foot hard against the pavement until we looked up at her still laughing silently every so often. She huffed loudly and motioned with a huge flourish of her hand for us to keep moving.

"Alright, alright," Akihiko nodded and grinned at us, sending Gina and I into a fit of giggles yet again. "Shall we go, _ladies_?" We broke out chuckling again but managed to start moving once again.

"Yes, let's go _monsieur oiseau_!" Gina pressed her fingers to her chest and blinked a few times making quite the picture of a 'sophisticated lady'. Again, I was rendered immobile and shaking with laughs until it was impossible even to breathe.

"Come on, breathe Sen-chan," she laughed checking to make sure that I had indeed started to intake oxygen again.

"Okay," I paused for breath again, "we can go now"

"Good." Akihiko took my arm and led me away, my fit of giggles still shivering through me.

It took me a while to calm down completely. Every time I was almost done with laughing, the image of Gina fluttering her abnormally long eyelashes just made me chortle obscenely. Akihiko thought it endearing; Sora, on the other hand, begged to differ. She scored me with those flashing violet eyes every time I started laughing again.

I started noticing that the village had quickly turned into a huge city. The only things missing here was a couple of skyscrapers and some cars. It reminded me of Tokyo with all the noise and the people. A pang of homesickness surged up with the thought of Tokyo. It took all my strength to pound it back into the dark where I had encaged it.

"Ooooh!" Gina squealed as she swiftly climbed the length of his hakama and jumped up on Akihiko's shoulder. He winced and frowned at the hyper catfish who ignored him and asked, "Is that a market?"

"Looks like it," Akihiko shrugged. Gina jumped down and whirled to look at us.

"We can go shopping!" she cried, twirling in a circle.

"Well, we _do_ need some supplies." Akihiko mused.

"Like dry clothes and more food," I added, already in conspiracy with Gina. What girl doesn't like shopping? Especially after battling a huge water dragon, dragging your feet through water for most of the week, and seeing people die from the most horrid disease known to any living being? Yeah, shopping sounded like heaven.

"We _are_ running low on water…" Akihiko said as he rubbed his chin and looked between Gina's eager eyes and my own cautiously excited ones. He turned to look at a frowning Sora. "Would you mind?" he asked courteously.

Sora stared at us and sighed softly before waving her hand for us to go ahead.

"Yay!" Gina yelled, punching the air. "Come on, Sen-chan!" I grabbed her outstretched hand and went running towards the stands.

"Hey! Wait up!" Akihiko ran to catch up with us as Sora sped up behind him.

Man there was everything in this place. Jewelry, food, clothes, furniture, weapons, _everything_! The shopkeepers eyed us with glittering, greedy eyes; trying to take our money but it turned out that Gina was quite a bargain hunter. We weaved through the stalls with Akihiko following, making sure to buy all the supplies we _really_ needed.

By the time we were done, we'd spent only about a quarter of our money and had gotten a bunch of stuff. Gina bought a short sword, perfect for her size, a change of clothes, and a pair of water proof boots. Akihiko had bought our supplies as well as a set of shining throwing knives that he could hide within his clothes. I had bought a change of clothes as well as waterproof boots.

"Hmm… do we need anything else?" He kept looking around as we passed the last of the stands.

"Don't think so," Gina murmured.

Something the color of the sea caught my eye. I frowned and twisted my head back to the main part of the market. What had I seen? My steps slowed as I scanned the area again. There were people everywhere, a sea of multicolor but nothing even close to the sea-blue that had caught my eye.

Maybe it was nothing…

Just as I was going to turn and follow Akihiko and the others; the color caught my eyes again like a gleaming gem.

It was someone's hair.

I locked onto the person and took off, ignoring the yells from behind me. The person kept moving further away from me but it didn't stop me. Days of trudging through water had toned my legs until they were running machines. Spirits moved around me as I weaved around stalls and buyers, muttering my apologies to the shocked other worldly creatures.

The person stopped right before entering an alley almost like he had sensed me coming. My breath caught as his figure began to form in front of me.

Dark blue hakama, white kimono, and…blue-green hair.

"Haku!" I yelled and the figure turned around, his arms outstretching as I barreled straight into them.

His eyes…they were the same color as I remember…the shifting hazel eyes.

He looked down at me for a minute, confused and frowning.

My heart stuttered: maybe it wasn't Haku. Maybe my memory had failed me. Maybe…

But the confusion was gone as recognition hit him like a brick wall. He looked up, from where I had come, before dragging me into the dark alley he had been heading for. And then, just as he had finished hiding me, he said the most beautiful thing in the world.

"Sen-chan?" he asked, running his fingers across the side of my face.

"It's you!" I whispered, already crying as his face broke out into a smile, _his_ smile.

"I've missed you," he whispered as he kissed my brow, wrapping his arms around my waist.

"Me too," I breathed. Oh. Oh. _Oh._ Haku was here with me! Oh! This couldn't be happening!

Distantly, I heard the voice of Akihiko shouting my name with Gina shouting for me as well. My head lifted and I looked at him finding him looking into my eyes.

"Come away with me," he murmured, his eyes straying to my lips. They tingled without even a touch.

"My friends..." It was a weak argument but I couldn't just _leave_ them…right?

"Then meet me at the entrance to the city at midnight," he answered quickly, not even trying to argue with me, knowing what I had thought instinctively. A brilliant smile graced my face. I loved him so much.

"No you can't leave me! We just—I just!"

"Shh!" He sigh, passing fingers across my lips, "here," he whispered, drawing out a small dagger from his side, "take it so you'll feel me close to you and remember to come to the entrance," he smiled at me eyes glittering.

He leaned down and looked into my eyes, hesitating slightly before brushing his lips on my waiting ones. Just the smallest, quickest kiss but it was just enough to set my entire being on fire.

"Remember: the entrance at midnight," he murmured and then, he was gone like a fire snuffed out.

"Sen-chan!" I heard Akihiko yell as I leaned against the wall, trying to find some balance.

Haku! _Haku_! My mind would not stop screaming his name in every tone imaginable. I had found him! Oh! This was truly the best day of my life. Every cell in my body tingled.

"I'm here!" I yelled. Akihiko appeared at the entrance of the alley almost immediately and I looked at him with the brightest smile on my face. He frowned at me and crossed his arms.

"Okay, spill"

Another smile crossed my face. The grooves on the dagger's hilt brushing my fingers as I deftly hid it beneath the fold of my clothing.

* * *

"He's not Haku!" Gina stamped her foot again against the stone floor. We'd found a room in a small inn and ever since we had done so, they wouldn't stop trying to convince me that I was wrong about finding Haku.

"He is!" I cried, repeating the same argument.

"Then why didn't we sense him? Why didn't he show himself?" Akihiko said for the fourth time, getting ready to go to bed.

"I don't _know_!" I pounded my fist against the wall. "But it's him! I'm sure!"

Sora snapped her fingers and shook her head no vigorously. She stared at me with nostrils flared. Of all of them, she had been the first to say that it wasn't Haku who I'd met. Jealously, that's what she had. A fat helping of jealousy. I'd already told her that twice.

"Shut _up, _Sora!" I snarled.

"She can't talk, Sen-chan," Akihiko sighed loudly looking at me with a frown, "seriously, what's wrong with you?" He looked at me critically.

"Just that none of you _believe_ me! It's got me so angry I can't think!" I yelled, the frustration causing tears to form in my eyes. My knees gave out and I sank to the floor, rubbing my itchy eyes.

"It's just so hard to believe your story," Gina said in a softer tone, coming to sit by me.

"Yeah, there's just too many holes in it," Akihiko added, folding himself down on his bed.

Sora snapped her finger making me look up at her. She nodded at me with fierce, determined eyes. I sighed and looked at them.

"I'm sure it was him," I insisted as Akihiko prepared to turn in. Sora rolled her eyes and climbed into her bed, tucking herself in and closing her eyes firmly.

"It _might_ be him," Akihiko said as he climbed into bed and turned to look at me as I stood and went to get into mine, "but just to be safe, don't meet him tonight"

"Promise it!" Gina demanded, looking me in the eyes. I shifted my vision until I looked at the floor.

"But what if—?"

"Promise!" Gina snipped, her lips pulling together.

"Fine," I huffed, sliding into my bed and turning to face the wall, "I won't go"

"For your sake, I hope you don't." Akihiko mumbled and turned off the light, plunging the room into darkness.

* * *

They didn't _understand_. I dressed silently and pulled on my shoes as I watched the sleeping youkai around me.

It was Haku! It had to have been him! It wasn't even possible that I was wrong, not with all the days I had spent imagining him. I'd spent eight years worth of days imagining Haku from every angle and in every scene imaginable. He was engraved into my brain.

My steps didn't make noise as I crept towards the door and opened it just as silently. I glanced around the quiet room again before sighing softly. They'd probably wake up tomorrow morning and find me back in bed, never realizing that I'd left. Another grin crossed my face, but I'd have gotten to spend my night with the boy of my dreams. Just the thought of being able to talk to him, to kiss him, to be with him had me feeling like I was made of sunlight.

I stepped out into the hallway, clicking the door behind me shut, already dreaming of seeing his beautiful eyes again.

* * *

A/N: Oooo! Haku is back! Hmm! Wonder what's going to happen next chapter? Stay tuned! Reviews are appreciated so please leave one!

~~Kikyo


	13. Reality

Chapter 13: Reality

A/N: Thank you again for the reviews! They mean everything to me!!!

P.S. So Haku finally appears in this chapter! I'm so excited I hope you guys are too! Dragon boy is here! (Does a happy dance!)

P.S.S. To my great beta, Strayphoenix, who makes sure I make sense and cheers me on.

Disclaimer: I do not own Spirited Away or any of its characters. They belong to Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli. I don't make a profit from this fanfic so please don't sue!

* * *

My dream had shattered the minute a bag had been pulled over my face and my neck hit until I passed out. Right now, I didn't know where I was or what was going to happen to me. But there was one thing that was very clear.

My friends had been right. That man _was_ not Haku.

It was dark like a pit and just as dirty. My arms were wrapped around my knees as my pupils tried to dilate to drink up any of the nonexistent light. Even after being tied up for what seemed like hours, I still couldn't see. My ears picked up slight murmuring and shuffling from outside my prison but nothing that could tell me where I was.

Did I cry when I found out that I had been deceived? No, I screamed and beat at the floor. Had I felt betrayed? No, I'd felt like my heart had been torn out. Did I feel ashamed? No, I felt numb and beneath that was a raging anger that had no outlet.

They wouldn't save me if they had any sense whatsoever. No. I deserved to be left alone. Dammit! Dammit all to hell! My hand wrapped into a hard fist and smacked straight into the ground. It hurt so dang beautifully easing some of the void within me.

The lock rattled from the outside. It didn't even make me twitch as the door swung open to reveal a grinning man. My eye scrunched together a second later as bright light enveloped the room.

"Sen-chan!" The man intoned as he sidled up to me. With great effort and a lot of tears, my eyes opened to glare at the blue haired demon standing beside me.

How had he fooled me into believing that he was Haku?! How idiotic could one person be?! I must have won the stupid award for this!

He slipped his fingers through my unruly hair and my skin crawled with the sensation. That bedroom smirk widened at my reaction, increasing his attentions. Disgusting hentai! My stomach roared as a knot formed in my throat.

"Don't call me that!" I hissed at him as he smiled at the motions his fingers were making.

"Come now, _koishi_, can't your dear _Haku_ call you by a pet name?" He spat the name as if it was filled with cockroaches.

"I'm not your _koishi_ and you're not Haku!" I yelled to his face, jerking away from him. He smiled at me, wrapping his fingers forcefully around my chin.

"I was your Haku last night." He smiled reminding me how…_willingly_ I had lept into his arms when I'd seen him last night. Thank _kami_ he'd knocked me out before we did anything I would come to regret!

"'Cause I didn't know any different." My voice grew snappier with every passing second.

"But how could you _not_ doubt me, Sen-chan!" He laughed leaning back languidly, "did it seriously not occur to you that your precious Haku might have, at the very least, _grown_ a little in the five hundred years since you last saw him?" He laughed at my drawn lips, "I guess you're just not that intelligent!" He guffawed even louder as my face grew redder with rage.

"Just take off these manacles from my wrists and I'll show you how stupid I am." I growled shaking the iron manacles that kept me from leaping out the door.

"I think I'll pass, _koishi_," he held my face still as he brushed his lips against my own. I growled and pushed away from his grip with a forceful twist.

He stood fluidly giving me a good look at his clothed body. Damn I'd been stupid thinking he was my dear dragon boy; he didn't even look like him! Lanky and bony where Haku was more built and perfectly angular; Shrewd looking where Haku looked confident.

The fake Haku walked towards the door with purposeful strides. His legs stretching and relaxing like a runner's. Suddenly, right before reaching the door, he stopped but did not turn towards me.

"You know," he started, catching my attention, "my master said you'd be fooled by me."

"Boh?" I asked looking up at him.

"Yeah, Boh-dono said you were too trusting, you'd believe anything." He glanced at me with a knowing smile.

"I've learned my lesson," I said, "next time I'll make sure to stab anything that looks like Haku."

He laughed long and hard at my statement, climbing down the stairs to the outside world. Even the glimpses of the outside didn't tell me much more than that I was in some kind of forest. The doors began to close as he quieted down.

"To bad you won't be able to employ your knowledge before reaching Boh-dono," and with that he shut the doors in my face.

So that's where I was going. Over to where I was heading anyways except that I'd be arriving in chains instead of swinging a sword over my head. Great, just perfect.

My knees slid up to my chest and my head leaned against them bonelessly. I should be afraid of seeing Boh, right? Yeah that's what I should feel but instead there was nothing to feel, nothing at all. That in itself should be scary but it was like the emotion was far away. Guess that should work in my favor. No anxiety attacks or crying fits.

Even under the tension I should be feeling, my eyes began to droop in exhaustion. A hundred pounds were pulling them down against my will. The floor was hard and smelly as my head touched it gently, my eyelids fluttering close until sleep over took me.

* * *

"Get up!" The voice sounded far away. My eyes refused to open as the voice became louder, yelling almost in my ear. A foot connected with my side. Pain radiated away from the point and rattled obscenely inside my head.

"I'm going! Kuso!" My voice should've come out as a yell but it sounded more like a gargled mess.

"Make it snappy!" The guard growled as I lifted myself off the floor. Well, my neck was definitely never going to be straight ever again, same went for the rest of my spine. Even popping it back into place didn't help the sore feeling all around my body.

The burly man grabbed me in an iron grip, his skin as grey as metal. He hefted me up to my feet with ease, setting me down on my jello knees. They threatened to give out only sheer will power stopped them from giving.

"W-where are we going?" I asked as he pulled, well more like dragged, me out of the prison and into the blazing sun.

"None of your business." He grunted, falling silent as he tugged me through a raggedy camp. The men looked me up and down, some with burning eyes and other with disinterested gazes. Their faces were studded with unkempt beards and patches of dirt. Just like in the town where I had been staying, these men definitely looked like spirits, from their oddly colored skin, multiple set of arms, and bulbous eyes.

We weaved around tents and seedy looking men, walking purposely towards one tent. The outside was pristine and white, bigger than the rest. The entrance was flapping open and Mr. Big and Burly just strutted in, dragging me in after. The fake Haku was in there, surprise, surprise! He sat behind a desk, writing away at something or other.

"I have brought you the prisoner, Kenji-sama," the guard bowed at the man. Kenji, huh? Didn't even come close to Haku's name, wasn't even half as beautiful as Haku's name. Kenji just kept writing, barely pausing to wave his hand in dismissal. The guard bowed low and straight, pivoting to leave without even glancing at me.

We were alone now. A slow panic began to build within me like a hurricane.

Kenji kept writing like nothing was happening, the scratching of his pen against the paper never ceasing. He was probably enjoying this, the little buggar. My arms were shaking slightly and it took everything within me to stop the trembling running up and down my arms. Was it fear that made me shake? It felt odd, this feeling almost like…anticipation.

"Tell me," he said, still not looking at me, "are you afraid?"

My eyes focused in on him, really looking at him. He was kinda gangly and thin, not anything that might be imposing to look at. Even his voice didn't command respect. Soft and nondescript, not like Haku's voice that echoed through whatever room he occupied.

"No," I answered truthfully, "I'm not."

He looked up at me with those eyes that had tricked me only just yesterday and I felt…nothing; not a longing for Haku or a shiver of fear. A strange smile pulled at his lips as he stared at me.

"How can that be?" He pondered, leaning back on his chair.

"I've stood before Yubaba and not backed down," my voice was as steady as I was starting to feel. "You're nothing compared to her; I'd just forgotten that feeling of fearlessness."

We stared at each other, inhaling and exhaling. Energy swarmed around us as we watched each other. Two tigers circling, looking for a weakness. I thought I saw his but could he see mine?

"You should be scared of me." He smiled, swiping up something with his hand, "I've just received a letter from Boh-dono." My mouth stretched into a line.

"What does it say?" I asked softly, not really excited about knowing what it said.

"He is quite delighted to know that his 'precious Sen' is come back to him," he read with a flourish, his mouth twisting into a sardonic smirk, "he promises me great rewards for managing to capture his errant love," he looked up at me, seeming to sense my steaming temper, "now comes the good part!" He paused for dramatics and for my answer.

"Do tell." I snapped, wanting to get this over with quick.

"He has allowed me to 'break you in' for him." He smiled at me.

What? I blinked a couple of times at him not sure if I'd understood him correctly. Break me in? What?

"What?" I voice my confusion much to his humor.

"It means that I have the honors of making sure you are…submissive by the time we get to Boh-dono's castle." He smiled at me as my eyes widened in comprehension.

Rage wasn't sufficient to describe the bubbling heat that consumed every cell in my body. Boh had just set me up to be…to be…argh! I couldn't even think about it!

"So you're going to torture me?" My teeth shrieked against each other.

"That's one way to describe it." He smiled at me like a kid in a candy store. His body was fluid as he stood, walking around his desk to stand before me nose to nose.

"You _hentai_ bastard!" I hissed, causing him to laugh and lean in real close.

"If you think I'm evil, just wait until you see Boh-dono." He grinned at me.

Could the earth move, kuso, eat this idiot up like dessert and never let him out again! My body was vibrating with the need to _hurt_ him for every nasty thought he might have in that decrepit brain of his! Knuckles white, fingers curled, eyebrows scrunched together, muscles taut, all wish for something to happen to him.

_KUSO_! Just _move_!

The earth turned to liquid beneath my feet, rolling like a wave pushing everything away from me. Kenji's eyes widened as he stumbled back, falling on his ass.

"Wha--?" He looked at me as if for the first time.

Did…did the earth just…move?

The door burst open, wind rushing around from behind me. Twisting and turning as I watched Kenji flinch from the floor.

"I'd stay on the floor if I were you," the most amazing voice said from just behind me. Akhiko stood behind me, sword drawn at the ready, glaring at Kenji with a look to kill.

"Akihiko-kun!" I cried, trembling in relief. His glare turned to me, his lips drawn in a line. It stopped me from running to him, arms out stretched. My heart sinking to the ground. He was mad at me of course.

"What will you do with me?" Kenji asked as Akihiko refocused on him, walking up to him. The bird-man stared at the man with hard eyes.

"You don't deserve an answer."

The sword swung down, cutting his head off without a sound. Blood poured everywhere, tainting the cloth wall red. My eyes shut as the blood pounded out of his body.

"Come on!" Akihiko growled at me, grasping my wrist right where the manacles had been. A hiss escaped my throat at the sting. He looked down at the line of blisters blossoming along my skin. A bulge bobbed on his throat as he swallowed loudly, grabbing me a little higher up on my arm.

"That's the last of them!" Gina patted her hands against each other, speaking to a silent Sora.

"Got her." Akihiko called, dragging me towards them. They turned towards us, Gina's face filled with an expectant expression. Wish I could say the same for Sora. Her expression was livid and her stance as rigid as a rock.

"I…I'm sorry." I murmured, looking down at my feet.

They didn't say anything for a few seconds, just let the silence sit among us.

"It might be best if you just didn't talk right now." Akihiko said, moving away from me. "Come on," he motioned for us to follow, "let's get going."

So that was it. My heart hurt. Everything was in pain. They were just going to be mad at me forever. Guess I deserve that, guess I deserve never to be trusted again for being such an idiot.

* * *

A/N: I'm exhausted and I need sleep! Please review you guys!

P.S. Nah! Nah! Na-nah! Nah! Got you all with the fake Haku! LOL

P.P.S. Sorry for any grammar errors but Stray hasn't been able to look through this chapter completely sooo it's a little rough. As soon as I have the polished version I'll repost!!

~~Kikyo


	14. Swordplay

Chapter 14: Swordplay

A/N: I'm in an English class right now. Perfect time to write, ne? Well, I should be paying attention but whatever. RoE is more important!  Okay, on with the show!

P.S. Thank you again Stray!!!!

P.S.S. This is dedicated to sword boy. He fences and he inspired the story. 

Disclaimer: I don't own Spirited Away (just my own characters!). Spirited Away is the property of Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli. I don't make any profit from this fanfic so please don't sue!

* * *

I deserved not to be spoken to for a few hours but a whole _day_? Wasn't that just a bit extreme? But that's exactly what happened. They walked briskly ahead of me, not even looking back to check if I was following.

It was coming close to nightfall and my legs were tired. I didn't dare open my mouth to complain, though. Akihiko might've shot me before I could even draw breath.

Maybe Sora might beat him to it with her wind powers. The pulsing hatred was still rolling off of her in waves.

"We're stopping," Gina called, not exactly directing the statement to me.

What? Stopping now? Wasn't it the rule to stop at nighttime and only to sleep? My curiosity just would not be settled as we trudged towards a large plot of dry land.

"Why are we stopping?" My voice was hoarse from the forced silence.

Akihiko glanced at me, turning his head just slightly. He turned back and did not answer.

I seethed.

Arrogant prick! It's not my fault I fell for the trap!

"You need training," Akihiko said, surprising me with an answer. He shook out his arms skin rippling, feathers rustling as the water sprayed out in all directions.

"_Nani_?!" I asked, "In what?"

He frowned at me, kicking out his legs to get more water out of his hakama.

"Swordplay," he said, his hand wrapping around his sword and drawing it out with the slightest metal ring.

Oh no! Hell no! I am _not_ learning to use swords! I'd kill myself swinging one of those heavy chunks of metal on my back!

Sora and Gina just sat at the edge of the camp and no amount of eye signals would get them to do anything other than stare at me with big smirks.

"No way," I said, outstretching my hands and shaking them vigorously as if that would stop Akihiko.

"You don't have a say in it," he growled, stepping forward and grabbing my arm.

"No!"

"Yes or I will leave you at the next village," he growled at me, tightening his grip.

"You wouldn't dare!"

"Try me," he snapped. "We can't trust you anymore. We have the right to throw you out of our little group"

I wish I could say "_you need me"_ but truthfully…they didn't need me at all. Not. One. Bit. My heart stung and crinkled in on itself. Denial swept through my mind but was stopped by the stark reality.

"Fine," I conceded, "I'll do it."

"Good," he said, dropping my arm like it was burning hot. Akihiko twirled his sword around in his hand, raising his eyebrows, waiting.

"Soo…" I stalled, glancing at a sitting Gina and Sora. If I was looking for pity, I found none, especially not in Sora. She had a diabolical smirk on her face as she stared at me. Probably hoping I would die.

"Soo…?" Akihiko prompted.

"Do I bring both of them out?"

"They're _double_ swords," he frowned at me, giving me the 'duh' look.

"Right," I mumbled, grabbing one with my hand and yanked hard. It came out too easily, surprising me. The other one just as easy. They felt hard and heavy in my hands as I faced Akihiko, both swords pointing at the ground. The metal hummed angrily, almost like it was disgusted.

"Points up," Akihiko sighed. I nodded pulling the swords up although my arms shook painfully. Sheesh you'd think my volleyball training would've helped me even a little.

"Now what?" I asked.

Akihiko sighed again, rolling his eyes. Then he lunged at me.

* * *

"No!" Akihiko yelled for the umpteenth time. A sigh blew from my lips, my back curving, exhausted. "Great kami, Chihiro, are you _deaf_ or something?"

"I'm not deaf!" I growled, getting really pissed with his constant insults.

"Could've fooled me!" he snapped. "You've gotta _flow_ with the swords. If the first one doesn't hit your mark, then the other one _must_."

"It's like water!" Gina chirped in, "fluid and always moving even when it seems that it is still." She nodded.

"That doesn't make sense!" I blew a strand of hair out of my face. "How can I move when I'm not moving?!"

"Again," Akihiko barked, "maybe you'll get it beaten into you." He sprang at me, his sword like liquid mercury.

My swords screeched against his. He'd taught me the basic stuff after assessing how little I knew. The basics weren't so bad, truthfully, it was putting it into action that was killing me. Literally.

As was expected, Akihiko batted the swords out of my hand. We looked at each other, my breath huffing out of me rapidly. He frowned and grinded his teeth.

"Completely inept," he muttered, going to get my swords.

"I am _not_ inept!" I yelled, "stop insulting me! It's not my fault my teacher sucks!"

"I've taught _hundreds_ of people to fight!" he growled, handing me my swords roughly. "Hundreds of _warriors_ and yet you can't even _parry_ worth half a damn!"

"You shouldn't teach me how to fight with two swords when I can't even fight with one!" I spat.

"I don't have time to teach you one sword! You need to defend yourself _now_!" Akihiko's eyes flared before his fingers rubbed into the crevices of his face.

"Again," he sighed, lunging at me.

* * *

My arms hurt hours later, small trickles of blood streamed down them. Even my legs were shaking, threatening quite angrily that they were going to give way any second now. Akihiko, on the other hand, was standing tall and sturdy. His face was scrunched into a frown, though, angry with me of course.

Kuso! I couldn't _handle_ these stupid swords! They moved one way when I tried to move them the other way. Stupid, sentient swords!

"This is pointless, Aki-chan!" Gina yelled from the sidelines. Sora still had that stupid grin on her face. Oh how I wanted to slice that face in half!

"She _has_ to learn!" he cawed at her, "they'll take advantage of her ineptitude if she doesn't know how to fight!"

"I said I'm sorry already!" I snapped at him, irked beyond belief and patience.

"Sorry doesn't count, Sen-chan." He sighed, rolling his shoulder, "You could've ruined the whole mission. You could have _died"_

I frowned at him, trying desperately to bury the rising frustration that bubbled in my blood. It hurt my body, physically and emotionally. This was just the perfect day.

Akihiko paused for a minute, eyebrows scrunching as his eyes drifted over to my side.

"Hey, what's that?" Akihiko asked suddenly, glancing curiously at my side.

"What is _what_?" I asked, patting down my side not noticing anything weird, "is it a bug?!" An edge of panic seeped through as I patted my clothes frantically.

"No, no," he chastised, stepping closer and pointing decidedly at my left hip, "that!"

"What—?" I touched my hip and felt something cold and hard.

The dagger: _Kenji's_ dagger to be exact. Akihiko looked at me as I glanced between him and the dagger.

Oh no! Why was I still _carrying _this thing?! But there it was, hard and real, beneath my fingers. Shakily, I sheathed my double swords, they sighed almost dreamily as I put them away. The dagger came out easily, lightly into my hand.

"This?" I asked.

"Yeah. You wanted a single sword?" he asked as he nodded, stretching his hand for me to give it to him, "Well this is a single sword"

"It's not a sword," I argued as his eyes gleamed, examining the sword with twinkling eyes.

"No, it isn't but it's long enough to be a formidable weapon." He tilted the sword, tossing it in the air and watching the metal gleam in the twilight.

"I don't want to use it!" I snapped, watching the twirling metal with a growing panic.

"Why? It's perfect," Akihiko handed me the thing, hilt up.

"_No_," I stepped back one step and then two. He frowned in confusion and kept pointing the sword at me.

"Sen—?" he started.

"NO!!" I yelled, stumbling back and falling flat on my ass. Three heads seemed to have grown out of my head according to Gina and Sora. They didn't get it, they hadn't been there.

"Give me one reason!" he challenged, running his fingers through hair and feathers in impatience.

My mouth opened to answer him. Yeah, answer him. Right. This is what I would say: _"Yeah Akihiko-san! I don't want to use this short sword cause the guy who kidnapped me gave me the sword pretending he was my Haku so now I think the dagger is cursed!"_ If I even mentioned Kenji, Akihiko would just return to being mad at me.

"No explanation?" he prompted. I shook my head no, none that I could explain rationally, "then let's begin"

He motioned the sword to me and, unwillingly, I grabbed it.

We fought again. The dagger rang melodically against Akihiko's sword, clanging and parrying on and on. The noise became a song and the movements the dance. His eyes twitched right before he tried to slice at my right side. My feet hesitated before I lunged at him. Everything moved so elegantly, so slowly, as we kept swiping and swinging at each other. I could see, truly.

Akihiko moved back and stuck his sword down into the floor. He watched me with a slight smile on his face. My breath was staccato and quick as I watched him, waiting.

"_That_ is your weapon," he said finally.

"No, this isn't my weapon!" The weapon flew from my hand, landing with a thud on the floor. My teacher sighed again.

"Why _not_?" Akihiko rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"Yeah, why not?" Gina chimed in.

"B-because—"

"A real reason!" Akihiko cawed, interrupting me.

I paused, my mouth opening and closing a few times. They watched me, waiting. The dagger gleamed at me, taunting with the secret. They were going to hate me if I told them…they really were.

"K…Kenji gave me that sword," I swallowed, rubbing at my itchy eyes.

"Who?" Gina crawled towards me.

"The boy who impersonated Haku, he gave me the sword when he was busy fooling me," I sighed, deciding to look Akihiko in the eye. He took in a breath and held it within his body and let it in a whisper.

"That's...too bad," he conceded, scratching his head. "But you still should use it"

He looked at me meaningfully.

"But…I don't like it," I sighed.

"Yeah, but you've gotta." He smiled at me slightly, for the first time today.

I looked at the sword for a minute…and picked it up again.

* * *

A/N: Dang that took me forever to write!

~~Kikyo


	15. Scream

Chapter 15: Scream

A/N: I HATE writing slumps! They really suck! Dammit and I was on a writing spree for such a long time too. Oh well…on with the story.

P.S. Thanks to Stray for being patient with me!  (Yeah, NOT :P)

P.P.S. Mitsuru who you'll meet in this chapter is based on a real person unfortunately…and I really hate him so I hope you guys will too.

P.S.S. Thanks to Kitsune, an AMAZING artist who drew Akihiko and Gina for me!! SUPER KAWAIIIII!

Discalimer: I don't own Spirited Away only the characters that I created. Spirited Away belongs to Studio Ghibli and Hayao Miyazaki. I don't make any profit from this.

* * *

Buildings were coming into view in the horizon on an island. Old, wiry trees surrounded the buildings, the stones just visible through openings in the branches. The mangrove like trees towered over us as we sloshed out of the water and onto dry earth at last.

"Where are we?" My voice echoed obscenely within the silence of the forest. The trees silently guarded silently the inner city.

"The wind clan's main city," Akihiko explained, looking back at me.

"The _only_ city left, I think," Gina mused. Sora, leading the team, snapped her head back, eyes narrowed. "Oops," Gina murmured, pressing her lips together.

The trees moved aside letting us pass through, branches swaying away from us in a nonexistent breeze, our steps staccato against the forest floor. Suddenly the city appeared through the trees in all its glory. Huge structures seemed to grow from the ground like the trees themselves.

Youkai bustled about, walking and strutting around like they had business to do. No one paid even a bit of attention to us.

"We aren't even getting _stares_," Gina mused as we melded into the crowd.

Feathers bloomed from one man's head as he sauntered past us, piercings through his ears and eyebrows. Another woman laughed with a bird perched on her arm as the bird chirped incessantly, a tail waved at us as she passed. Beautiful cat eyes merely glanced at us from across the street, not even stopping to stare. What a place where not even towering Akihiko or a half-breed like Gina stood out!

"This is a haven, right?" Akihiko asked. Sora nodded, her gaze scanning the crowd, her pace annoyingly brisk.

"Where are we going?" Gina squeaked as we kept weaving through and forth the people. I watched Sora pointed towards in the distance to an ever-growing mansion at what seemed to be the center of the city. A rolling metal fence protected the palace like mansion, standing well about Akihiko. Well kept plants graced the front lawn as tiny crystal wind chimes sang softly as they hung from the metal spokes atop the gate.

"Woah," Gina and I said in unison.

"I'm guessing this that is Sora's home," Akihiko murmured as the gated house loomed in front of us.

Sora lifted her hand, snapping her fingers three times. Her face twisting into a narrow eyed mask. Guards appeared as if from the very wind. They stared at the wind youkai for a second as she frowned back at them.

"My lady!" One called suddenly, snapping to attention and bumbling to the gate, pulling it open and staring wide at Sora.

She nodded at him, motioning for us to follow along behind her. The guards bowed as we strolled in, eyeing us with huge eyes. About time someone started gawking at us, I was beginning to wonder if all the people here were blind!

Flowing grass brushed at the pathway as tiny, winking and twirling blades in the light breeze. Bubbling fountains dotted the front lawn as well as small bushes. The mansion turned at outthe to be a huge, three story house with glittering windows and pale walls.

Sora's shoulders seemed to rise higher and higher as we crept up to the mansion. She kept twitching like a flea or something was biting her and her eye got a tick that wouldn't stop until we stepped right up to the front door of the place. I couldn't help but find it ridiculously funny. About time the princess got her due.

It burst open in a flourish of wind and chattering as a woman with red hair, spun to a stop right before us. Big golden eyes glittered as she stared at Sora for long seconds. Her pure white robe twisted in the breeze, baring thin feet every now and again.

"Ehh…hi we'r—mff!"Gina stuttered, right before Akihiko pulled his hands over her lips, frowning at her grumbling. I took that has a hint to shut up.

Either way, if the woman noticed us, or even _saw_ us, she didn't let on at all.

"Sora-chan?" the woman asked, reaching out one hesitant hand.

Sora curtsied low, ducking away from the hand before straightening out of its reach. The lady bit her lip and sighed as the wind youkai glared hatefully at the floor by the woman's feet.

"Sora!" A booming voice echoed through the hall. My skin jumped and crawled as it reverberated in my ears. "You've come back child!"

A rotund man with tiny buggy eyes appeared beside the woman, grasping her hip in one meaty hand. He smiled, exposing yellowish teeth, as he watched Sora.

I don't think she was too happy to see him, not one bit by the way she rung her hands until her fingers almost came off.

"Friends of yours?" He asked, arching an eyebrow at us, she nodded, "well they are quite welcomed here! Come in, come in!"

Akihiko, Gina and I glanced at each other briefly already feeling a little bit weary. We stepped into a luxurious marbled hall with servants bustling about, bowing to the master and then resuming their business.

"I suppose Sora didn't introduce me, right?" hHe guffawed, "Well how couldan she?! She's mute!" He roared loudly as if his statement was the funniest thing, the lady beside him smiled weakly, nodding along. "I'm her father, leader of the wind youkai and this lady by my side," he smirked at her, squeezing her hip, "is my wife…Arinia."

"She's your mom, Sora? She doesn't look like you," Gina frowned. Now that Gina mentioned it, they really didn't look alike. Not even a little bit, there their faces were as different as night and day.

"No! No," the man chuckled, "Sora is my first wife's daughter, this is my third wife."

"It is very nice to meet all of you," the lady bowed, smiling slightly.

"Yes, alright," he hurried, glancing around, "I'm sure these fine people want some food, darling, so let's not keep them waiting!"

"Thanks for your kindness," Akihiko nodded at the man as he beckoned us to follow.

"You look familiar," the man frowned, "what is your name again?"

"Akihiko of the phoenix clan," he bowed.

"Ah yes!" he smirked, "you're the last of your kind, yes? I heard about your clan's demise, tragic really," he snorted.

"I am," Akihiko frowned noticing uncertainly, "and um, your name, sir?"

"Mitsuru of the wind clan," he sniffed, nose in the air.

I turned away to roll my eyes. Stuck up snob, it's not like everyone was supposed to know his name. I looked around the room with appraising eyes. Really stuck up jerk, he had portraits of himself plastered all over the walls; him sitting eating some kinda apple fruit, him standing in a 'regal' pose, him sitting on his desk signing some paper. Sheesh! Where were the pictures of his family? At least there should've been pictures of him and Sora. Nothing. Just him and more of him. Was that a statue of him like a greek god? Eww, I think my lunch is going to come straight up and out.

"Please follow us," Arinia said as the big guy shuffled away from us toward a pair of wooden double doors.

"Sora," he boomed, the wind youkai seemed to flinch as he called her, "come here, we have a lot of things to discuss." The little blue haired girl winced as she picked up her pace until she walked right next to her father.

"Hey Sen-chan!" Gina whispered from her perch on Aki's shoulder.

"Hmm?" I murmured.

"I don't think Sora's too happy about being here," she muttered. Way to go Captain obvious! I rolled my eyes.

"Nah! What gave you that idea?"

"Hey!" Gina hissed a little too loudly. Lady Arinia turned to look at us and tried to put a smile on as she turned back around.

"Shut up you two!" Akihiko snipped, "we'll find out soon enough," he shifted eyes back to Sora as we tuned back into her conversation with her father.

"You've shirked your duties for long enough," he huffed, snapping his fingers at the two guards standing by the doors, "Get moving, you lazy fat asses!" he snipped at them.

Well, look who's talking!. It took all my willpower not to laugh straight in his face as the guards threw him secret looks of pure hatred. "You need to stay here and get married."

The rest of us stuttered in our steps as we all threw each other looks of pure shock. Sora, married? The two words didn't seem to go together. The wind youkai's cheeks seemed to turn an odd shade of rose. Was she really embarrassed? Oh my god, she was! I didn't think she had that emotion either.

"You'd make a perfect wife, child, being mute and all," he guffawed as he sat down at the head of a full-length dining table. Seems we had entered the dining hall. Servants came rushing in with plates of food.

"Sir," Arinia murmured as she sat to his right. He frowned at her waving his hand.

"I may talk to her as I see fit, she's my girl. You wouldn't understand how a man talks to his daughter," he rolled his eyes, giving us a secret smile, like we understood him. I certainly didn't.

Sora meanwhile sat down in her seat, a servant putting the napkin on her lap. She seemed far away, not even paying attention to us as we sat down beside her; Akihiko by her side, Gina next to him and me next to her. Food was placed in front of her and, yeah, she ate it but it was more like she _had_ to eat it rather than she wanted to eat it. Her eyes implied she wanted to throw it in his face.

"I'm telling you," the fat guy was talking again, I snapped my attention back to him, "if I could find a woman that wouldn't talk like my Sora here I would be a happy man!"

He laughed, slurping down some red viscous liquid. My eyes snapped back to Arinia but she seemed to be far gone as well, protecting herself so she wouldn't be hurt by his comments.

"Would you like me to call down Yoshiro and Harumi?" Arinia murmured looking at Sora.

The wind youkai looked up immediately into the older woman's eyes. The man frowned, huffing as Sora nodded vigorously. Arinia leaned back signaling for one of the servants to do just that.

"I was saying," the fat man huffed, distraught that attention wasn't on him anymore, "Sora, you have to get married immediately. I already have a man picked out for you, girl. Enough of you disappearing and not even telling your own father where in the world it is that you are going!"

He forked food into his mouth, chewing intensely as he spoke. Again whatever food was in my stomach threatened to come spewing out. The food that was placed in front of me turned to dust as I felt like vomiting.

We were all in disbelief as we heard him talk more and more to his daughter. He just kept on going about getting married and marrying the man he had picked out for her. Gina just kept shifting in her seat, throwing Akihiko and me looks of shock and pity. Sora wouldn't look at us at all, she just kept eating daintily and wiping her mouth with her napkin.

"Women _are_ good for just one thing," he waved his flabby hands around in the air, winking and smirking at Akihiko, "you know what I mean Akihiko-san, of course!"

"_No,_ sir," the bird-man's voice dropped to the deathly octaves, his back went rigged like when we were fighting. He met the fat man's eyes dead on as his breathing slowed down, "my father taught me to respect women sir."

"Bleh," the man huffed, drinking more wine.

"I believe you are drunk, sir, you should stop drinking now, sir," Akihiko stated, putting down his fork, still keeping his eerie green eyes on the man.

"You dare to tell me what to do?" the man roared as he stood, eyes flashing, he wobbled still gripping his glass.

"Dear!" Arinia called, he slapped her hand away.

"Shut up, bitch," he snapped.

Akihiko stayed sitting as the man towered over him. The bird-man still seemed to have to the upper hand in the staring match. I suddenly had the urge to be somewhere else. Very, very, _very_ far away.

The entrance doors burst open, killing the tension in the room as two children came running in; one barely four years old and the other maybe twelve at most.

"Sowa-neesan!!!!" tThe little girl cried, red curls fraying and bouncing as she launched herself into Sora's arms. The wind youkai had gotten out of her chair and squatted down to catch the running blur of energy, her face finally cracking through her nonchalant mask for the barest of instances.

The little girl wrapped chubby arms around Sora's neck as she blabbered on about some sort of activity or other. Eyes bright as gems, she watched Sora's expressions. Gina, Aki, and I did the same.

"Your voice is still gone, neesan?" the little girl asked with big eyes.

"You know it's still gone, Harumi," the boy, twelve years old at most, stepped forward with his back straight.

"Welcome back Sora-neesan," he smiled slowly. I think even though he didn't run into Sora's arms like his little sister, he really wanted to.

"We missed you!" Harumi's eyes filled with these huge tears, "and you promised to come visit us every month but we haven't see you in forever!" Tears ran straight down her cheeks as Sora sighed, wiping each one away with delicate fingers before pulling the little girl back into her arms.

"Sora!" Mitsuru growled after the greetings were done, "we're not finished speaking." Sora winced, embracing the child even harder.

"Darling," Arinia placed her arm on his, smiling coyly, "let them unpack and get some rest before we speak to Sora-chan."

Mitsuru watched her with a huge frown but I had to give the lady credit, she didn't even flinch as she batted her eyes and widened her smile. He huffed and let the lady lead him off still grumbling about his shrew of a daughter and how that was completely unacceptable. Thankfully, the door shut.

"You'll have to forgive my father," the boy intoned, "he was dropped on his head at birth."

"Only once?" Gina snipped, spinning around in her chair to watch the dark haired boy. He giggled softly as he picked up the small girl from the floor.

Sora stood, fixing her dress as she took Harumi from the boy's arms and holding her tightly to her chest.

"Father doesn't know the meaning of humility or propriety, never has," the boy puffed out a breath of air that almost knocked me out of my seat. "Oh! Sorry miss!" He grabbed my shoulder to keep me from knocking my head against the table.

"It's okay," I sat up right awkwardly, "I'm Chi-—uh, I mean, Sen, by the way,"

"Well met Sen-san, I am Yoshiro of the Wind, first in line to the Wind Kingdom's throne." He shook my hand before bowing to Akihiko and Gina.

"My name is Aki—"

"I know, the great Akihiko-sama of the phoenix clan, it is a great honor," the boy bowed again. Akihiko blinked a couple of times before he chuckled.

"My name's Gina, just plain Gina," the little cat youkai shrugged giggling as the boy bowed to her as well. They were roughly the same size.

"Well met to you as well, just plain Gina-san," he had such a bright smile compared to the serious expression that almost always was pasted on Sora's face. That same youkai tugged on her brother's haori motioning with her head towards the door.

"You want to go to your rooms?" he asked and his sister nodded at his question, "Well, I guess that's my cue to lead you to where you'll be staying. Follow me."

With that, we got up from the table and followed the royal family. I'd left almost all of my food untouched.

* * *

"This is beyond rich," Gina bounced on the big king sized bed in the middle of the room. She giggled every time she landed, touching the roof on her way up. The youkai was light as a feather on the air bed.

Sora sat on a couch in a corner, pulling a brush through her short blue hair as she rolled her eyes at the cat demon jumping on the furniture.

Akihiko was perched on the railing out on the balcony, watching the moon and the twinkling stars with his arms crossed. He hadn't moved from there for a little over half an hour and I was beginning to wonder what he really was thinking about.

"So," Gina bounced once more and sat on the bed, "I'd been meaning to ask you...I know why me and Aki-chan—"

"Akihiko-_sama_!" the birdman squawked the correction suddenly, scaring me straight out of my seat on the floor. Gina snorted at pale face.

"Ignoring the bird brain," Gina waved her hands, "we know why _we_ want to destroy Boh but why did _you_ come along with us? I mean, you could've just gone back to your world and left the spirit realm to the youkai."

"I couldn't leave this world in such a mess," I explained as if it were obvious. "Boh did this because of me so I had to help fix it and…"I trailed off, swallowing hard.

"Aaaaaaand what?"

"Well…I wanted to find… Haku. Also" I muttered softly, a blush and a shiver running up my spine as two different faces came to my mind's eye: Kenji and the boy Haku.

In her chair across the room, Sora twitched.

"You know he's probably dead," Akihiko said in an even voice as he entered the room, shutting the French doors behind him with a small slam.

"Yeah, most people are," Gina frowned.

Again, Sora twitched, this time looking up at us with silent narrow eyes.

"But Haku is alive! I know Haku is alive! I _know_ it!" I declared, standing up with my fists clenched.

"Yeah and you thought Kenji was Haku _remember_?" Akihiko sat on the edge of the bed, cracking his neck and sending me a knowing glare.

"Stop reminding me," I muttered, sitting back down.

"Yeah well, you shouldn't go looking for a man that is most likely fish fodder," Gina huffed standing up to jump on the bed again.

"You'll only be let down," Akihiko sighed, shaking out his legs, "we don't want you to be hurt. _Again_."

"Besides, what's so great about this guy? I mean, sure he's a powerful youkai and he helped save the spirit realm all those years ago but what's he to _you? _He didn't even come looking for you, right?!" Gina frowned as I hunched my head over trying to come up with an argument against her's. I couldn't find any.

"Sounds like a_ baka_ to me," Akihiko nodded.

I was about to open my mouth to say something, _anything, _when a loud bang resounded in the room.

Sora's chair had flown straight back into the wall behind her as the youkai stood straight up, her hair twirling around her, eyes fierce and deadly.

And then, she screamed.

"_THIS SORA'S _HAKU IS_ NOT _A BAKA_, _YOU_ INSUBORDINATE, IDIODIC, MIOPIC, ARROGANT, SHAME FACED __**BIRD**__!!" _she roared, her voice breaking half way through, a cough exploding from her throat as she shook in anger.

We all stared for a few seconds as the curtains blew out and the French doors slammed open to let all the wind of Sora's fury blow out of the room.

"Sora?" Akihiko stood looking at her with wide eyes.

"_This_ Sora is to have an honorific added to the end of her most regal name! Do not believe that you are on friendly terms with _this_ queen!" she shook, eyes flashing before she looked straight at me.

"And _you_, s_tupid_ girl!" she spat, stomping up to me, "you have the _audacity_ to call _that_ great man _yours_? _This_ Sora does not understand what he even _sees_ in you! You, _you_ who do not even _defend_ him!" Her face was right in front of me, arms caging me in.

"W-wait," I stuttered my brain finally turning on from the adrenaline, "_your_ Haku?"

She hissed before chuckling softly. "Stupid _human_ girl. He promised this Sora his hand in marriage before he ever _dreamt _of you."

* * *

Cue dramatic music…!!!

Heehee! What a cliffy!

P.S. Baka means idiot/jerk

~~Kikyo


End file.
